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FIFTY 
ENGLISH    CLASSICS 
BRIEFLY    OUTLINED 


MELVIN   HIX 

Bachelor  of  Education,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University  ;  Designer 
of  "  A  Brief  Outline  of  the  Books  I  have  Read,"  "  A  Brief  Out- 
line of  My  History  Lessons" ;    and  Compiler  of  "  The 
Approved  Selections  for  Supplementary  Read- 
ing and  Memorizing,  Grades  i-8" 


^ 


HINDS,   NOBLE  &   ELDREDGE,  Publishers 
31-33-35  West  15TH  Street,  New  York  City 


Copyright,  1905,  by 
HINDS,  NOBLE  &  ELDREDGE 


FOREWORD 

This  book  is  the  result  of  an  experience  as  a  teacher 
and  principal  extending  over  more  than  a  score  of  years 
and  covering  every  grade  of  school  work  from  the  un- 
graded country  school  up  to  and  through  college  pre- 
paratory work.  It  is  built  upon  a  plan  which  the  writer 
has  found  useful  and  contains  the  material  which  he  has 
found  it  most  essential  to  have  before  him  in  written  or 
printed  form. 

The  plan  is  virtually  that  which  is  embodied  in  the 
writer's  plan  book  entitled  "  A  Brief  Outline  of  the  Books 
I  have  Read,"  and  is  made  up  largely  of  matter  which 
he  has  brought  together  for  his  own  use.  This  will 
account  for  differences  as  to  treatment  and  fullness 
which  will  be  observed  in  the  different  outlines.  It  has 
seemed  best  to  leave  most  of  them  in  the  form  in  which 
they  have  been  found  useful.  Further,  it  has  seemed 
wise  to  give  as  much  variety  of  form  to  the  different 
outlines  as  was  consistent  with  the  uniformity  of  plan 
upon  which  the  outlines  have  been  put  together.  Uni- 
formity with  variety  is  a  good  motto. 

It  is  hoped  that  these  outlines  will  prove  helpful  to  four 
classes  of  persons : 


iv  Forewof  d 

First.  Those  conscientious  and  devoted  teach- 
ers who,  from  lack  of  early  opportunity,  feel  the 
need  of  such  assistance  as  this  book  aims  to  afford. 

Second.  Those  teachers  who,  having  had  ample 
opportunities  and  training,  yet  by  reason  of  the 
overcrowded  condition  of  their  classes  and  the 
burden  of  "  papers  "  which  bears  so  heavily  upon 
teachers  all  over  our  land,  will  be  glad  to  make  use 
of  the  results  of  the  labor  of  a  fellow-teacher. 

Third.  All  students  and  teachers  who  by  reason 
of  remoteness  from  libraries  and  educational  insti- 
tutions will  be  glad  to  have  such  a  collection  of 
quotations  from  authors  and  excerpts  showing  the 
opinions  of  critical  authorities  as  to  their  style  as 
is  embodied  in  this  book. 

Fourth.  That  large  and  ever  increasing  host  of 
private  students  of  literature  scattered  all  over  our 
land,  who,  while  eager  to  do  genuine  literary  study, 
feel  that  they  need  the  guidance  of  some  plan 
which  will  render  their  work  systematic,  and 
therefore  fruitful. 

If  to  these  four  classes  this  book  shall  prove  useful,  the 
writer  will  feel  himself  amply  repaid  for  the  time  and 
labor  spent  upon  it. 

MELVIN    HIX. 

New  York,  September  i,  1905. 


CONTENTS 


PAGB 

Foreword iii 

Introduction vii 


I.    DRAMAS 


1.  Shakspere's  "Julius  C^sar" 

2.  Shakspere's  "  Macbeth  "      .        .        .        . 

3.  Shakspere's  "The  Merchant  of  Venice" 

4.  Shakspere's  "  Hamlet  "        .        .        .        . 

5.  Milton's  "  Comus  " 


II.    FICTION 


I 

5 
9 

24 


6.  Thackeray's  "  Henry  Esmond  " i 

7.  Thackeray's  "Vanity  Fair" 7 

8.  Cooper's  "The  Last  of  the  Mohicans"    .        .        •  17 

9.  Hawthorne's  "The  House  of  the  Seven  Gables"  25 

10.  Scott's  "  Ivanhoe  "       . 29 

11.  Dickens's  "A  Tale  of  Two  Cities"  ....  34 

12.  Eliot's  "Silas  Marner" 37 

13.  Goldsmith's  "The  Vicar  of  Wakefield"         .        .  41 

14.  London's  "The  Call  of  the  Wild"         ...  46 

15.  Irving's  "Rip  Van  Winkle" 51 

III.    NARRATIVE  POEMS 

16.  Scott's  "The  Lady  of  the  Lake"    .        .        .        .  i 

17.  Coleridge's  "The  Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner"  7 

18.  Longfellow's  "King  Robert  of  Sicily"  ...  12 

19.  Arnold's  "Sohrab  and  Rustum"       ....  16 

20.  Longfellow's  "  Evangeline  " 20 

21.  Bryant's  "The  Little  People  of  the  Snow".        .  26 

V 


vi 


Contents 


22. 
23. 


24. 

25- 
26. 
27. 
28. 
29. 
30- 

31- 
32. 
33- 
34- 
35- 
36. 
37- 
38. 
39. 


40. 
41. 
42. 

43- 
44. 

45- 
46. 

47- 
48. 

49. 
50. 


Browning's  "The  Pied  Piper  of  Hameun  Town" 
Lowell's  "The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal" 

IV.     LYRIC   POETRY 


Tennyson's  "Sir  Galahad" 
Browning's  "Tray"     .... 
Longfellow's  "  Paul  Revere's  Ride  " 
Burns's  "  Bannockburn  "... 
Lowell's  "The  Finding  of  the  Lyre" 
Holmes's  "The  Chambered  Nautilus" 
Emerson's  "The  Rhodora" 
Whitman's  "  O  Captain  !     My  Captain  ! " 
Herbert's  "Virtue"    .... 
Herrick's  "  Daffadills  "... 
Lowell's  "The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal" 
Whittier's  "  Snow-bound  "  . 
Kipling's  "Recessional"     . 
MiLi  on's  "  L'Allegro  " 
Milton's  "  II  Penseroso  "    . 
Milton's  "  Lycidas  "     . 


V.     ESSAYS   AND   ADDRESSES 

Macaulay's  "An  Essay  on  Milton". 
Macaulay's  "An  Essay  on  Addison" 
Morley's  "Macaulay" 
Carlyle's  "An  Essay  on  Burns" 
Irving's  "Rural  Life  in  England"  . 
Stevenson's  "Amateur  Emigrant"    . 
Webster's  "  Bunker  Hill  Oration  " 
Bacon's  "On  Studies" 
Lincoln's  "Gettysburg  Address" 
Lincoln's  "Second  Inaugural  Address" 
Washington's  "Farewell  Address" 


PAGE 
30 

34 


I 

4 
8 
II 
14 
»7 
21 

25 
29 

32 
36 
41 
45 
49 
49 
72 


9 
18 
24 
36 
39 
43 
50 
55 
59 
68 


INTRODUCTION 

Teachers  of  English  are  frequently  obliged  to  do  more 
or  less  supervisory  work  and  to  examine  such  masses  of 
"  papers  "  that,  during  the  school  year,  they  have  little 
energy  left  for  general  reading.  To  save  them  the  turn- 
ing over  of  many  books  in  order  to  refresh  their  memory 
as  to  dates  and  other  matters  of  detail  is  one  object  of 
this  book.  Another  object  is  to  furnish  a  plan  which 
will,  it  is  hoped,  aid  them  to  systematize  their  note-taking 
and  their "  teaching.  It  goes  without  saying  that  no 
teacher  will  make  such  a  book  as  this  a  means  of  avoid- 
ing that  general  reading  which  is  absolutely  essential 
to  success  in  teaching  English  literature.  The  object  is 
rather  to  set  the  teacher  free  from  a  certain  amount  of 
pen  drudgery,  so  that  he  may  devote  more  time  to  pro- 
ductive reading. 

It  is  generally  agreed  that  a  literary  masterpiece  should 
be  gone  over  three  times,  once  to  obtain  a  general  idea 
of  it  as  a  whole,  a  second  time  for  the  structure,  and  a 
third  time  for  matters  of  detail  and  for  consideration  of 
the  style.  It  is  in  the  last  two  readings  that  this  book  will 
be  found  most  useful. 

Fiction,  Dramas,  and  Narrative  Poems 
The  matter  given  under  this  head  has  been  divided 
into    the   following    subheads :    I.   Introductory    Notes, 


viii  Introduction 

11.  Characters,  III.  Plot,  IV.  Quotations,  V.  Style,  to 
which,  in  some  cases,  additional  notes  or  remarks  have 
been  added. 

I.  INTRODUCTORY  NOTES 

Under  this  head  will  be  found  the  dates  of  birth  and 
death  of  the  author.  These  fix  his  period.  This  is  vitally 
important  to  a  thorough  understanding  of  his  work.  Every 
author  is  a  product  of  the  past,  his  background,  and  the 
present,  his  environment.  What  he  does  is  based  upon 
what  others  have  done  and  are  doing.  Shakspere  could 
hardly  have  written  "  Hamlet "  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II. ; 
nor  could  Milton  have  written  "  Paradise  Lost "  till  the 
great  Puritan  movement  had  run  its  course.  Wordsworth, 
living  in  the  age  of  Pope,  could  scarcely  have  written 
the  "  Ode  on  Intimations  of  Immortality "  or  any 
other  of  his  characteristic  poems.  Pope,  living  in  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  surely  would  have 
written  quite  otherwise  than  he  did  in  the  beginning  of 
the  eighteenth. 

It  is,  therefore,  vitally  important  that  he  who  hopes  to 
become,  to  any  considerable  degree,  master  of  English 
Literature  should  fix  in  mind  the  chronology  of  the  sub- 
ject. Time  was  when  to  study  Hterature  meant  little  more 
than  this.     To-day  we  are,  perhaps,  too  apt  to  neglect  it. 

Furthermore,  history  and  literature  are  inseparably  con- 
nected. Every  social  or  political  change,  every  war,  and 
every  great  invention  affects  literature.     There  have  been, 


Introdiiction  ix 

indeed,  authors  who  have  sought  to  free  themselves  from 
the  influence  of  the  present,  to  surround  themselves  with 
the  atmosphere  of  antiquity,  and  to  write  wholly  in  the 
manner  and  the  spirit  of  days  gone  by.  They  have  never 
fully  succeeded.  On  this  fact,  indeed,  is  based  the  whole 
theory  of  the  "  higher  criticism  "  of  the  Bible,  and  of 
ancient  literature.  The  student  should,  therefore,  have 
on  his  desk,  not  only  a  good  History  of  English  Literature, 
but  a  good  History  of  the  British  race,  showing  its  devel- 
opment on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  Probably,  for  the 
history  of  our  cousins  on  the  other  side,  no  other  work 
is  so  convenient  and  satisfactory  as  Green's  "  Short  His- 
tory of  the  English  People."  It  is  to  be  regretted  that 
we  have  no  American  work  which  is  quite  so  satisfactory 
as  this. 

History  and  literature  being  so  closely  connected,  it 
seems  unfortunate  that  they  are  not  better  correlated  in 
many  of  our  courses  of  study.  However,  a  good  beginning 
is  being  made  along  that  line  which  will  in  time,  it  is 
likely,  bring  about  a  more  satisfactory  condition  of  things 
in  this  respect.  At  any  rate,  the  private  student  may 
make  his  own  correlation,  greatly  to  the  increase  of  his 
interest  in,  and  knowledge  of,  both  subjects.  They  are, 
indeed,  rather  one  subject  than  two.  Literature,  rightly 
apprehended,  gives  more  real  knowledge  of  history  than 
is  generally  acquired  from  the  study  of  history /<?r  se. 

Another  important  date  given  is  that  of  the  composi- 
tion (where  this  is  not  possible,  of  publication)  of  the 


X  Introduction 

masterpiece  under  consideration.  This  is  important  foi 
two  reasons  :  by  an  easy  subtraction,  it  gives  the  author's 
age  at  the  time  of  composition ;  and  it  enables  us  to 
ascertain  exactly  what  was  going  on  or  had  recently  been 
going  on  in  the  world. 

The  author's  age  affects  his  work  in  three  ways  :  it 
changes  his  knowledge,  his  point  of  view,  and  his  style. 
A  young  man  seldom  writes  like  an  old  man,  nor  does 
an  old  man  write  like  a  middle-aged  man.  No  better 
example  of  this  can  be  given  than  Tennyson's  two 
"  Locksley  Halls."  Though  no  great  writer  ever  wrote 
more  evenly  from  early  manhood  to  old  age  than  Tenny- 
son, the  difference  between  these  two  strikingly  illustrates 
the  influence  of  age  upon  an  author's  work.  Another 
good  illustration  can  be  found  in  Carlyle's  works.  The 
"  Burns "  given  in  this  collection  should  be  compared 
with  the  "  French  Revolution,"  or  some  other  of  his  later 
works.  The  method  of  ascertaining  the  dates  of  Shak- 
spere's  plays  is  yet  another-  example  of  what  has  been 
said.  We  are  ignorant  of  the  dates  :  therefore  we  study 
his  style  and  his  thought,  as  expressed  in  his  works,  and 
date  them  according  to  the  development  which  we  think 
we  find  in  style  and  thought.  It  is  a  good  exercise  to 
set  a  class  to  "  guessing  "  from  the  style  and  thought  of  a 
piece  of  literature  whether  the  author  was  an  old  or  a 
young  man.  The  effect  of  age  upon  authorship  would 
be  more  evident  were  it  not  for  the  habit  which  most 
great  writers  have  had  of  suppressing  or  altering  their 


Introduction  xi 

earlier  works.  This  process  tends  to  eliminate  the  cal- 
lowness  of  youth  and  set  all  of  an  author's  works  nearly 
on  the  plane  of  his  latest. 

The  importance  of  understanding  the  immediate  sur- 
roundings among  which  a  work  was  produced  can  be 
seen  in  studying  the  "  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal."  From 
reading  it  no  one  would  be  likely  to  think  that  the  slav- 
ery question  entered  into  it.  Yet  a  careful  reading  of 
Lowell's  prose  work  will  disclose  the  fact  that  in  that 
question  lay  the  germ  of  the  "Vision."  The  leper  is 
none  other  than  the  downtrodden  slave ;  the  knight,  the 
haughty  defender  of  slavery,  who  would  learn  the  lesson 
of  the  brotherhood  of  man  and  the  Christian  equality  of 
all  men  only  through  suffering. 

Yet  another  date  given  among  the  Introductory  Notes 
is  that  of  the  time  of  the  action.  This  again  furnishes 
another  point  of  connection  with  history.  Students 
should  read  "  Julius  Caesar  "  while  they  study  the  Roman 
history  of  that  period.  Many  interesting  comparisons  can 
be  made  between  the  characters  and  actions  as  set  forth 
in  the  two  forms.  The  result  will  be  to  lend  interest  and 
reality  to  both.  In  like  manner,  "  Ivanhoe  "  will  give  a 
clearer  idea  of  the  relations  between  Normans  and  Saxons 
than  can  be  acquired  from  the  ordinary  compendiums  in 
use  in  our  schools.  Even  works  which  have  little  his- 
torical accuracy  may  be  so  taught  as  to  aid  in  the  under- 
standing of  the  period  in  which  their  action  is  supposed 
to  have  taken  place. 


xii  Introduction 

Of  the  importance  of  the  "  scene  of  a  narrative  "  it  is 
unnecessary  to  speak. 

II.     CHARACTERS 

Every  student  of  a  masterpiece  of  narration  should, 
after  the  first  reading,  make  a  list  of  the  characters  of 
any  considerable  importance.  Generally  there  are  two 
or  three  who  stand  out  so  clearly  that  there  will  be  little 
dispute  about  their  rank.  Often,  in  regard  to  the  relative 
rank  of  these,  considerable  discussion  may  arise,  as  in  the 
case  of  "  Julius  Caesar."  Critics  will  probably  never  agree 
as  to  whether  Caesar  or  Brutus  should  be  ranked  first.  The 
writer's  opinion  is  that,  when  read  thoughtfully,  Csesar,  by 
reason  of  his  influence  over  the  whole  course  of  the  action, 
is  the  more  important  character  ;  when,  however,  the  play 
is  acted,  the  character  of  Brutus  stands  out  so  prominently 
that  it  seems  certain  that  he  is  the  chief  character. 
"  Ivanhoe,"  too,  furnishes  another  example  of  works  in 
which  it  is  difficult  to  get  all  members  of  a  class  to  agree 
upon  the  relative  rank  of  different  characters. 

In  his  reading  of  works  of  narration  the  writer  has  found 
that  about  six  characters  are  often  found  whose  importance 
is  greater  than  that  of  the  others.  He  has,  therefore,  gen- 
erally classed  the  principal  and  subordinate  characters  in 
groups  of  six,  joining  others  closely  connected  with  them. 
The  matter  of  chief  importance  is  that  pupils  should  form 
their  own  opinions  as  to  the  relative  importance  of  char- 
acters and  be  able  to  give  arguments  in  support  thereof. 


Introduction  xiii 

Tlie  writer  expects  the  users  of  this  book  to  do  the  same, 
regardless  of  the  order  in  which  they  are  here  set  down. 
It  will  often  be  quite  sufficient  to  direct  pupils  to  select 
the  six  chief  characters  and  disregard  the  others. 

III.  PLOT 

All  narratives  may  be  roughly  classed  under  three 
heads :  first,  those  which  have  no  plot,  being  merely  a 
succession  of  incidents  bound  together,  perhaps,  by  the 
presence  of  a  single  character ;  secotid,  those  which  have 
an  imperfect,  abbreviated,  or  obscure  plot ;  third,  those 
which  have  a  clear  and  well-developed  plot. 

For  the  benefit  of  those  who  do  not  have  access  to 
complete  works  on  the  subject  the  following  explanation 
of  plot  structure  is  given  :  — 

A  clear  and  well-developed  plot  consists  of  (i)  an  in- 
troduction; (2)  an  exciting  cause  (or  moment'),  sometimes 


called  the  impelling  motive  ;  (3)  a  rising  action,  often  called 
the  complication ;  (4)  a  climax,  or  turning  point  of  the 


xiv  Introduction 

action ;  (5)  a  fa/ting  action,  often  called  the  resolution  ; 
and  (6)  a  catastrophe,  or  denouement,  to  which  many 
authors  add  (7)  a  conclusion,  in  which  all  of  the  important 
characters  are  finally  disposed  of.  To  these  are  often 
added  {a)  a  prelude  to  the  climax,  (f)  a  tragic  moment  or 
force,  and  {c)  the  moment  or  force  of  final  suspense. 
Few  plots  contain  all  of  these  clearly  developed.  This 
outline  applies  more  strictly  to  tragedies,  but  can  with 
modifications  be  applied  to  any  other  form  of  narrative. 
The  best  example  of  a  fully  developed,  plot  which  will  be 
found  in  the  following  outlines  is  that  of  "  Hamlet." 

(i)  The  Introduction 

The  chief  business  of  the  introduction  is  to  lead  natu- 
rally up  to  the  exciting  moment  or  force.  To  do  this 
effectively  it  must  make  known  to  the  reader  or  spectator 
the  time  and  the  place  of  the  action,  the  nationality  and 
circumstances  in  the  life  of  the  hero  or  heroine  ;  in  short, 
it  must  place  the  chief  characters  in  the  proper  environ- 
ment, create  an  "atmosphere,"  and  indicate  the  peculiar 
mood  of  the  play,  novel,  or  poem, 

(2)  The  Exciting  Force  or  Moment 

At  the  end  of  the  introduction  the  exciting  moment  or 
force  appears.  It  is  the  impelling  motive  or  feeling  that 
becomes  the  cause  of  the  action  which  follows  ;  or  it  is 
the  point  at  which  the  forces  opposed  to  the  hero  do 
something  which  compels  him  to  act. 


Introduction  xv 

(3)  The  Complication 

From  this  point  the  rising  action  begins.  From  it,  the 
mystery  deepens,  or  the  interest  increases  through  a  series 
of  steps  or  movements  ascending  more  or  less  rapidly  to 
the  cHmax.  In  this  part  may  be  introduced  new  charac- 
ters of  considerable  importance  for  whom  place  could 
not  be  found  in  the  introduction. 

(4)  The  Climax 

The  climax,  or  turning  point,  of  a  plot  is  the  point 
where  the  fortunes  of  the  hero  or  heroine  change.  If 
the  chief  character  has  been  fortunate  during  the  rising 
action,  luck  now  changes  for  the  worse  ;  if  unfortunate,  for 
the  better.  The  climax  is  not  always  easy  to  fix  exactly. 
It  is  often  only  after  the  resolution  has  proceeded  for  some 
time  that  we  can  turn  back  and  locate  the  exact  point  at 
which  the  change  occurred.  Sometimes  it  is  scarcely 
possible  to  do  this  till  we  see  how  the  story  ends.  Some- 
times it  cannot  be  fixed  at  any  exact  point,  but  is  spread,  so 
to  speak,  over  several  scenes  or  chapters.  In  some  plots, 
on  the  other  hand,  it  is  so  emphasized,  so  clearly  brought 
out,  that  we  feel  certain,  the  moment  we  have  read  the 
chapter  or  witnessed  the  scene,  that  we  have  reached  the 
turning  point  of  the  action. 

(a)  The  Prelude  and  (b)  the  Tragic  Moment  or  Force 

Closely  attached  to  the  climax  we  frequently  find  a 
prelude,  which  foreshadows  the  action  of  the  climax,  and 


xvi  Introduction 

a  tragic  moment  or  force  which  develops  out  of  it,  and 
more  or  less  clearly  foretells  the  catastrophe. 

(5)  The  Resolution 

The  tragic  moment  or  force  may  be  properly  called  the 
beginning  of  the  falling  action  or  resolution.  In  this 
part,  the  forces  which  the  author  has  set  in  motion  in  the 
preceding  part  of  the  narrative  drive  the  hero  or  heroine 
onward  to  the  final  solution  of  the  plot.  As  the  figure 
(p.  xiii)  indicates,  this  part  of  the  plot  is  generally  shorter 
than  the  complication.  The  author  does  not  in  most 
cases  introduce  any  new  characters  unless  they  are  of 
minor  importance. 

(c)  The  Force  or  Moment  of  Final  Suspense 

At  or  near  the  end  of  the  resolution,  the  author  often 
introduces  what  is  known  as  the  force  or  moment  of  final 
suspense.  This  is  some  retardation  of  the  action,  some 
brief  interruption  or  change  in  the  course  of  events, 
which  seems  to  indicate  a  result  different  fi-om  that 
which  actually  follows.  In  a  tragedy,  the  reader  or 
spectator  is  made  to  feel  that  the  hero  may,  after  all, 
escape  destruction ;  in  a  comedy,  that  a  tragic  outcome 
is  probable. 

(6)  The  Catastrophe 

Closely  following  the  moment  of  final  suspense  comes 
the  catastrophe,  which  settles  the  fate  of  the  chief  charac- 
ters.    In  the  best  plots,  this  is  merely  the  logical  result  of 


Introdiiction  xvii 

the  preceding  course  of  the  action,  and  must  be  in  har- 
mony with  the  characters  as  shown  or  developed  in  the 
piece.  However  much  the  writer  attempts  mystification, 
the  experienced  reader  can  generally  foretell  its  nature  long 
before  it  is  reached,  often  even  after  the  first  few  scenes 
or  chapters. 

(7)  The  Conclusion 

After  the  catastrophe  or  denouement  proper  many  writers 
add  a  conclusion,  which  explains  the  fate  of  some  or  all 
of  the  characters  more  fully  than  has  been  done  before. 
This  seldom  happens  in  dramas,  but  not  infrequently  in 
other  forms  of  narration. 

All  that  has  been  said  about  plots  is  subject  to  modifi- 
cation when  apphed  to  any  particular  piece.  An  element 
of  a  perfect  plot  may  be  entirely  omitted  or  so  obscurely 
given  that  it  is  impossible  to  place  it  exactly.  Some  parts, 
e.g.  the  exciting  cause,  the  complication,  climax,  resolution, 
are  so  important  that  they  can  scarcely  be  omitted,  except 
in  narratives  of  the  picaresque  form,  —  the  plotless  narra- 
tive, —  without  destroying  the  claim  of  the  piece  to  be 
classed  as  literature  at  all. 

Since  it  has  not  been  found  expedient  to  indicate  all 
of  these  parts  in  the  "  Outlines,"  the  following  examples 
are  given :  — 

"Julius  Caesar" 

1.  Introduction.  —  The  street  scenes. 

2.  The  Exciting  Moment  and  Cause. — Cassius  sound- 
ing Brutus. 


xviii  Introduction 

3.  The  Complication.  —  Scenes  leading  up  to  the 
assassination. 

(a)  The  Prelude  to  the  Climax.  —  This  is  distributed 
through  the  compHcation,  but  appears  finally  when 
Artemidorus  offers  his  scroll  and  in  the  reply  of  the 
Soothsayer. 

4.  The  Climax.  —  The  assassination. 

(b)  The  Tragic  Force.  —  Antony's  oration. 

5.  The  Resolution.  —  Scenes  leading  to  Brutus'  suicide. 

(c)  The  Moment  of  Final  Suspense.  —  Brutus  explains 
his  repugnance  to  suicide. 

6.  Catastrophe.  —  Death  of  Brutus. 

7.  Conclusion.  —  Antony's  speech  over  Brutus'  body. 

"The  House  of  the  Seven  Gables" 

The  Central  Theme  is  the  influence  of  heredity,  which 
is  brought  out  in  — 

1.  77/1?  Introduction,  which  leads  up  to  the  — 

2.  Exciting  Moment,  which  is  the  opening  of  the  shop. 

3.  The  Complication,  extending  to  chapters  13-14. 

(a)  The  Prelude  to  the  Climax.  —  Indefinite. 

4.  The  Climax  is  where  Holgrave  half-mesmerizes 
Phoebe. 

(b)  The  Tragic  Moment  is  the  Judge's  demand. 

5.  The  Resolution  extends  from  Phoebe's  departure 
to  the  catastrophe. 

(c)  The  Moment  of  Suspense  occurs  when  Hepzibah 
tries  to  prevent  the  Judge  from  seeing  Clifford. 


Introduction  xix 

6.  The  Catastrophe  is  the  death  of  Judge  Pyncheon. 

7.  The  Conclusion  is  the  rest  of  the  book. 

It  must  be  remembered  that,  in  applying  the  laws  of 
plot  structure  to  fiction  and  narrative  poems,  considerable 
allowance  must  be  made.  The  various  parts  are  not  apt 
to  be  so  definitely  fixed  as  in  the  drama.  In  non-dra- 
matic narratives  the  author  has  greater  freedom  than 
in  dramatic.  The  proportion  of  parts  is  less  commonly 
observed.  The  writer  may  explain  and  enlarge  upon 
what  the  dramatic  writer  must  either  leave  to  the  imagi- 
nation of  the  audience  or  present  in  its  most  compact 
form.  He  may  begin  in  medias  res  and  have  one  of 
the  characters  relate  what  has  preceded,  or  may  himself 
narrate  it  more  or  less  directly. 

IV.   QUOTATIONS 

It  has  been  the  writer's  aim,  in  selecting  the  quotations 
given  in  the  "  Outlines,"  to  choose  matter  which  has  an 
important  bearing  on  the  structure  of  the  piece  and  at 
the  same  time  exhibits  the  author's  style  as  well  as  may 
be  in  so  small  a  space.  For  example,  the  quotation  given 
in  the  "Outline"  of  "Ivanhoe"  states  the  central  idea 
of  the  book,  —  the  relations  existing  at  that  time  between 
the  Saxons  and  the.  Normans  and  Jews.  In  it,  teachers 
and  students  will  find  a  valuable  hint  as  to  sources  from 
which  modern  Enghsh  has  developed.  The  best  example 
of  "  quotations  "  which  aid  in  the  understanding  of  the 
structure  will  be  found  in  the  outline  of  "  Vanity  Fair." 


XX  Introduction 

V.   STYLE 

Under  this  head  students  will  find,  in  most  of  the  out- 
lines, a  considerable  number  of  quotations  giving  the 
opinions  of  able  critics  as  to  the  style  of  the  author. 
These  have  been  selected  so  far  as  may  be  so  as  to  have 
an  immediate  bearing  upon  the  particular  piece  under 
consideration.  Where  this  is  not  possible  they  apply  to 
the  author's  style  in  general.  .  In  a  few  cases,  the  writer 
has  given  his  own  opinion.  This  has  always  been  based 
upon  the  opinions  of  prominent  critics,  whose  words 
would  have  been  used  had  they  lent  themselves  readily 
to  quotation. 

It  is  believed  that  students  and  teachers  will  find  this 
part  of  the  book  particularly  useful  as  affording  a  point  of 
departure  for  their  own  study  of  style.  The  fact  is,  that 
any  statement  as  to  style  that  is  not  based  upon  a  gen- 
eral consensus  of  opinion,  is  not  worth  much.  Every  one 
knows  how  far  from  the  mark  were  the  contemporary 
estimates  of  the  style  of  Wordsworth,  Byron,  and  Keats. 

So  much  of  what  has  been  said  above  applies,  mutatis 
mutandis,  to  the  outHnes  of  Essays  and  Orations  and 
Lyric  Poetry  that  a  treatment  of  them  in  detail  seems 
unnecessary. 

The  writer  wishes,  however,  to  say  a  few  words  to  those 
who  may  use  this  book  in  connection  with  "  A  Brief  Out- 
line of  Books  I  Have  Read."  This  book  is  intended  for 
teachers   and    mature    students.     The   "  Outlines "   are, 


Introduction  xxi 

therefore,  much  fuller  and  more  detailed  than  can  be 
expected  of  ordinary  students.  They  will,  it  is  believed, 
materially  aid  the  teacher  in  helping  the  student  to  that 
further  condensation  which  is  necessary  if  he  is  to  gain  a 
firm  grasp  of  a  masterpiece  as  a  whole.  This  wholeness 
of  grasp  is  the  chief  end  to  be  sought  in  teaching  any 
piece  of  literature  and  the  one  thing  too  often  neglected. 
It  can,  in  many  cases,  be  sufficiently  obtained  if  students 
record  only  the  chief  divisions  and  the  main  events  or 
arguments. 

In  conclusion,  the  writer  submits  these  outlines  to  his 
fellow-teachers  and  fellow-students  in  the  hope  that  they 
may  prove  helpful  both  in  the  study  and  in  the  class  room. 


DRAMAS 


A    BRIEF   OUTLINE    OF   SHAKSPERE'S 
"JULIUS    C^SAR" 

Author 

William  Shakspere 

Born  1564         Died  161 6 

Kind  of  Book.     Drama  —  Tragedy 

Scene.     Rome  —  Sardis  —  Philippi 

Time.     44-42  B.C. 

When  Written.     1 600-1 603 

Principal  Characters 

1.  Julius  Caesar  and  Calpurnia,  his  wife. 

2.  Octavius  Caesar. 

3.  Mark  Antony. 

4.  Brutus  and  Portia,  his  wife. 

5 .  Cassius. 

6.  Casca. 

Subordinate  Characters 

1.  A  Soothsayer. 

2.  Artemidorus. 

3.  Cicero,  Publius,  Popilius  Lena,  senators. 

4.  Decius    Brutus,   Trebonius,    Metellus    Cimber,    and 

other  conspirators. 

5.  Flavins  and  Marullus,  tribunes. 

6.  Lucius,  Dardanus,  Pindarus,  servants. 


2  Shakspere's  "Julius  Ccesar" 

PLOT 

Rising  Action  —  Complication 

1.  During  Caesar's  triumphal  entry  into  Rome,  Antony 
three  times  offers  him  a  crown,  which  he  refuses.  A 
soothsayer  bids  him  "  beware  the  Ides  of  March." 

2.  The  envious  Cassius  adroitly  works  upon  the  patri- 
otism of  Brutus  to  induce  him  to  join  the  conspiracy 
against  Csesar. 

3.  Cassiusand  his  fellow- conspirators  visit  Brutus, who 
joins  them. 

4.  Calpurnia,  by  reason  of  her  own  ominous  dreams 
and  the  strange  sights  reported  to  her,  persuades  Caesar 
to  remain  at  home. 

5.  Just  as  he  decides  to  do  so  a  number  of  the  con- 
spirators enter  and  persuade  him  to  go. 

6.  On  his  way  to  the  Capitol  he  again  meets  the  Sooth- 
sayer, who  warns  him  that  the  Ides  of  March  are  not 
yet  gone.  Artemidorus  desires  him  to  read  a  paper 
warning  him  against  the  conspirators.  As  it  is  repre- 
sented as  a  matter  personal  to  Caesar,  he  postpones 
doing  so  and  enters  the  Capitol  surrounded  by  the 
conspirators. 

Climax 

Shouting  "  Liberty,"  "  Freedom,"  "Tyranny  is  dead," 
the  conspirators  stab  him  to  death.     ("  Et  tu,  Brute.") 


Shakspere's  "Julius  Ccesar"  3 

Falling  Action  —  Resolution 

1.  Antony  asks  and  obtains  permission  to  bury  Caesar 
—  his  soliloquy  over  the  corpse. 

2.  Brutus  speaks  to  the   multitude.     Antony  follows 
with  his  famous  oration. 

3.  The    Triumvirs    (Antony  —  Octavius  —  Lepidus) 
meet  at  Antony's  house. 

4.  Brutus   and    Cassius   quarrel.     They  hear  of  the 
death  of  Cicero. 

5.  The  ghost  of  Caesar  appears  to  Brutus  in  his  tent. 

6.  Brutus   and    Cassius   meet    Octavius   and   Antony 
before  the  battle. 

7.  Brutus  and  Cassius  are  defeated  and  die  by  theii 
own  swords. 

8.  Antony's  speech  over  Brutus'  body. 

Quotations 

"  Men  at  some  time  are  masters  of  their  fates : 
The  fault,  dear  Brutus,  is  not  in  our  stars, 
But  in  ourselves,  that  we  are  underlings." 


"  Now  in  the  name  of  all  the  gods  at  once. 
Upon  what  meat  doth  this  our  Caesar  feed. 
That  he  is  grown  so  great?  " 


4  Shahspere's  "Julius  Ccesar" 

"  This  was  the  noblest  Roman  of  them  all : 
All  the  conspirators,  save  only  he, 
Did  that  they  did  in  envy  of  great  Caesar ; 
He,  only,  in  a  general  honest  thought, 
And  common  good  to  all,  made  one  of  them. 
His  life  was  gentle  ;  all  the  elements 
So  mixed  in  him,  that  Nature  might  stand  up, 
And  say  to  all  the  world,  T/u's  was  a  man." 

Style 

"  Everything  is  wrought  out  in  the  play  with  great  care 
and  completeness ;  it  is  well  planned  and  well  propor- 
tioned ;  there  is  no  tempestuousness  of  passion  and  no 
artistic  mystery.  The  style  is  full,  but  not  overburdened 
with  thought  or  imagery ;  this  is  one  of  the  most  perfect 
of  Shakspere's  plays ;  greater  tragedies  are  less  perfect, 
perhaps  for  the  very  reason  that  they  try  to  grasp  greater, 
more  terrible,  or  more  piteous  themes."  Dowden. 

This  play  is  especially  full  of  balances  and  contrasts  :  — 

Brutus  vs.  Cassius. 

Antony  vs.  Octavius. 

Portia  vs.  Calpumia. 

Calpurnia  and  Caesar  vs.  Portia  and  Brutus. 

The  Conspirators  vs.  The  Triumvirs. 

Brutus  and  Lucius  in  orchard  vs.  Brutus  and  Lucius  in  tent. 

The  Soothsayer  vs.  The  Ghost. 

Brutus'  Speech  vs.  Antony's  Oration,  etc. 


A  BRIEF  OUTLINE   OF    SHAKSPERE'S 
"  MACBETH  " 

Author 

William  Shakspere 

Born  \^(i\       Died  J 616 

Kind  of  Book.     Drama  —  Tragedy 

Scene.   Scotland  —  England 

Time.    1040  (Edward  the  Confessor) 

When  Written.     1606 

Principal  Characters 

1.  Macbeth  and  Lady  Macbeth. 

2.  Duncan,  the  King. 

3.  Malcolm,  the  King's  son. 

4.  Banquo  and  his  son,  Fleance. 

5.  Macduff,  Lady  Macduff,  and  son. 

6.  The  Weird  Sisters. 

Subordinate  Characters 

1.  The  Porter. 

2.  Siward,  the  Enghsh  General,  and  son. 

3.  The  Murderers. 

4.  Seyton,  officer  of  Macbeth. 

5.  A  Scotch  Doctor. 

6.  Ross,  Lennox,  and  other  Noblemen. 

5 


Shakspere's  "  Macbeth  " 

Preliminary  Events 

1.  The  meeting  with  the  Weird  Sisters. 

2.  The  assassination  of  Duncan  in  Macbeth's  castle. 

3.  The  flight  of  the  King's  sons. 

4.  The  coronation  of  Macbeth. 

5.  The  murder  of  Banquo  and  the  escape  of  Fleance. 

Climax 

The  apparition  of  Banquo  at  the  banquet,  Act  III., 
scene  iv.,  line  50. 

"  Thou  canst  not  say  I  did  it :  never  shake 
Thy  gory  locks  at  me." 

Concluding  Events 

1.  Macbeth's  visit  to  the  Weird  Sisters  —  the  prophecy. 

2.  Flight  of  Macduff  and  the  murder  of  his  wife  and 

children. 

3.  The  approach   of  Malcolm's   army — the    moving 

wood. 

4.  The  announcement  of  Lady  Macbeth's  insanity  and 

death. 

5.  The  battle  and  the  death  of  Macbeth. 

Quotations 

"  If  it  were  done  when  'tis  done,  then  'twere  well 
It  were  done  quickly  :  if  the  assassination 
Could  trammel  up  the  consequence,  and  catch 


Shakspere's  "Macbeth"  7 

With  his  surcease  success  ;  that  but  this  blow 
Might  be  the  be-all  and  the  end-all  here, 
But  here,  upon  this  bank  and  shoal  of  time, 
We'd  jump  the  life  to  come.     But  in  these  cases 
We  still  have  judgment  here ;  that  we  but  teach 
Bloody  instructions,  which  being  taught  return 
To  plague  the  inventor  :  this  even-handed  justice 
Commends  the  ingredients  of  our  poisoned  chalice 
To  our  own  Hps." 

"  I  have  no  spur 
To  prick  the  sides  of  my  intent,  but  only 
Vaulting  ambition,  which  o'erleaps  itself 
And  falls  on  the  other."  .  .  . 

"  I  dare  do  all  that  may  become  a  man ; 
Who  dares  do  more  is  none." 

"  But  screw  your  courage  up  to  the  sticking  place, 
And  we'll  not  fail." 

Style 

"Shakspere  has  employed  in  the  treatment  of  this 
subject  a  style  that  suits  it  —  vehement  to  violence,  com- 
pressed to  congestion  —  figures  treading  upon  each  other's 
heels,  while  general  philosophic  reflections  occur  but 
rarely.  It  is  a  style  eminently  fitted  to  express  and 
awaken  terror ;  its  tone  is  not  altered,  but  only  softened, 
even  in  the  painfully  touching  conversation  between 
Lady  Macduff  and  her  little  son." 


8  Shakspere's  "Macbeth" 

"  Macbeth  is  simply  the  tragedy  of  ambition." 

"The  play  centers  entirely  around  the  two  chief  char- 
acters, Macbeth  and  Lady  Macbeth.  The  other  charac- 
ters are  only  outlined." 

"Shakspere's  most  popular  tragedy  —  his  typical  one." 

"Simple  in  composition,  it  keeps  to  the  same  plane." 

"  The  abnormal  shortness  of  the  play."  Brandes. 

"She  [Lady  Macbeth]  is  a  terrible  impersonation  of 
evil  passions  and  mighty  powers,  never  so  far  removed 
from  our  own  nature  as  to  be  cast  beyond  the  pale  of 
our  sympathy ;  for  she  remains  a  woman  to  the  last,  and 
is  always  linked  with  her  sex  and  with  humanity." 

Mrs.  Jameson. 

"  Shakspere  in  his  delineation  of  Macbeth's  character 
does  not  mean  to  represent  him  as  a  noble  nature  turned 
from  virtue  to  vice  by  demoniac  agency.  His  is  the 
higher  conception  that  a  soul  which  has  commenced  to 
surrender  to  evil  will  find  in  the  powers  of  darkness  agen- 
cies ready  to  expedite  its  descent,  it  matters  not  what 
form  these  agencies  assume."  Moulton. 


A    BRIEF    OUTLINE    OF    SHAKSPERE  S 
"THE    MERCHANT    OF   VENICE' 

Author 

William  Shakspere 

Born  1564  .  Died  1616 

Kind  of  Book.     Comedy 

Scene.     Italy  —  Venice  —  Belmont 

Time.    Indefinite  (i 500-1600) 

When  Written.     1590 

Principal  Characters 

1.  Shylock,  a  Jew. 

2.  Antonio,  a  merchant  of  Venice. 

3.  Bassanio,  a  gentleman  of  Venice. 

4.  Portia,  a  wealthy  lady  dwelling  at  Belmont. 

5.  Gratiano,  a  friend  to  Bassanio,  and  Nerissa,  maid  of 
Portia. 

6.  Lorenzo,  a  friend  to  Bassanio,  and  Jessica,  Shylock 's 
daughter. 

Subordinate  Characters 

1.  The  Duke  of  Venice. 

2.  Tubal,  a  friend  to  Shylock. 

3.  Lancelot  Gobbo,  the  clown,  and  his  father. 

9 


10       Shakspere's  "  The  Merchant  of  Venice" 

4.  The  Princes  of  Morocco  and  Arragon,  suitors  to 
Portia. 

5.  Salanio,  Salarino,  Salerio,  Venetian  gentlemen. 

6.  Servants,  officers,  etc. 

PLOT 

Preliminary  Events  —  Complication 

1.  The  signing  of  the  bond. 

2.  The  supper  —  Jessica  elopes  with  Lorenzo. 

3.  Bassanio  departs  for  Behnont. 

4.  Portia  and  Nerissa — the  suitor  princes  and  the 
caskets. 

Climax 

Bassanio  chooses  the  right  casket. 

Concluding  Events  —  Resolution 

1.  The  news  of  Antonio's  ruin  and  danger. 

2.  The    double    wedding  —  Bassanio    and    Portia  — 
Gratiano  and  Nerissa. 

3.  The  two  rings  —  Bassanio  and  Gratiano  depart  for 
Venice. 

4.  The   trial  —  Shylock   obstinately  insists  upon   the 
letter  of  the  bond. 

5.  Portia  appears  disguised  as  a  young  lawyer. 

6.  Shylock's  discomfiture  —  the  two  rings. 

7.  At  Belmont  again  —  the  quarrel  over  the  rings. 

8.  Explanation  —  Reconciliation. 


Shakspere's  "  The  Merchant  of  Venice"       11 

Quotations 

'*  Shylock.  He  hath  disgraced  me,  and  hindered  me 
half  a  milHon ;  laughed  at  my  losses,  mocked  at  my 
gains,  scorned  my  nation,  thwarted  my  bargains,  cooled 
my  friends,  heated  mine  enemies ;  and  what's  his  reason  ? 
I  am  a  Jew.  Hath  not  a  Jew  eyes?  hath  not  a  Jew 
hands,  organs,  dimensions,  senses,  affections,  passions? 
fed  with  the  same  food,  hurt  with  the  same  weapons, 
subject  to  the  same  diseases,  healed  by  the  same  means, 
warmed  and  cooled  by  the  same  winter  and  summer,  as 
a  Christian  is?  If  you  prick  us,  do  we  not  bleed?  if  you 
tickle  us,  do  we  not  laugh?  if  you  poison  us,  do  we  not 
die?  and  if  you  wrong  us,  shall  we  not  revenge?  If  we 
are  like  you  in  the  rest,  we  will  resemble  you  in  that.  If 
a  Jew  wrong  a  Christian,  what  is  his  humihty?  Revenge. 
If  a  Christian  wrong  a  Jew,  what  should  his  sufferance  be, 
by  Christian  example  ?  Why,  revenge.  The  villainy  you 
teach  me,  I  will  execute ;  and  it  shall  go  hard  but  I  will 
better  the  instruction." 

"  Portia.     The  quality  of  mercy  is  not  strain'd, 
It  droppeth  as  the  gentle  rain  from  heaven 
Upon  the  place  beneath ;  it  is  twice  blest ; 
It  blesseth  him  that  gives  and  him  that  takes : 
'Tis  mightiest  in  the  mightiest :  it  becomes 
The  throned  monarch  better  than  his  crown ; 
His  sceptre  shows  the  force  of  temporal  power, 
The  attribute  to  awe  and  majesty. 


12       Shakspere's  "  The  Merchant  of  Venice  " 

Wherein  doth  sit  the  dread  and  fear  of  kings ; 
But  mercy  is  above  this  sceptred  sway ; 
It  is  enthroned  in  the  hearts  of  kings, 
It  is  an  attribute  of  God  himself; 
And  earthly  power  doth  then  show  likest  God's 
When  mercy  seasons  justice.     Therefore,  Jew, 
Though  justice  be  thy  plea,  consider  this,  — 
That,  in  the  course  of  justice,  none  of  us 
Should  see  salvation  :  we  do  pray  for  mercy ; 
And  that  same  prayer  doth  teach  us  all  to  render 
The  deeds  of  mercy." 

Style 

"  With  the  earlier  comedies  it  ("  The  Merchant  of  Ven- 
ice") is  aUied  by  the  frequent  rhymes,  the  occasional  dog- 
gerel verse,  and  the  numerous  classical  allusions.  .  .  .  With 
the  later  group  of  comedies  '  The  Merchant  of  Venice ' 
stands  connected  by  its  centering  the  interest  of  the  drama 
in  the  development  of  character,  and  by  the  variety,  depth, 
and  beauty  of  the  characterization.  No  person  depicted 
in  any  preceding  comedy  can  compare  in  vigor  of  draw- 
ing and  depth  of  color  with  Shylock ;  and  Portia  is  the 
first  of  Shakspere's  women  who  unites,  in  beautiful  pro- 
portion, intellectual  power,  high  and  refined,  with  unre- 
strained ardor  of  the  heart.  .  .  .  She  has  herself  never 
known  trouble  or  sorrow,  but  prosperity  has  left  her 
generous  and  quick  in  sympathy.  .  .  . 

"  Shylock  is  not  a  preternatural  monster.     Wolflike  as 


Shakspere's  "  The  Merchant  of  Venice"       13 

his  revenge  shows  him,  we  pity  his  joyless,  solitary  life ; 
and  when,  ringed  round  in  the  trial  scene  with  hostile 
force,  he  stands  firm  upon  his  foothold  of  the  law,  there 
is  something  sublime  in  his  tenacity  of  passion  and  resolve. 

"  Bassanio  is  ennobled  in  our  eyes  by  his  choice ;  for 
the  gold,  silver,  and  lead  of  the  caskets,  with  their  several 
inscriptions,  are  a  test  of  true  lovers.  Bassanio  does  not 
come  as  a  needy  adventurer  to  choose  the  golden  casket, 
or  to  '  gain '  or  *  get '  anything,  but  in  the  true  spirit  of 
self-abandoning  love,  '  to  give,'  not  '  to  get,'  and  '  hazard 
all  he  hath  ' ;  and  having  dared  to  give  all,  he  gains  all. 

"  The  lyrical  boy-and-girl  love  of  Lorenzo  and  Jessica 
brings  out  by  contrast  the  grave  and  glad  earnestness  of 
Portia's  love  and  Bassanio's."  Dowden. 


A    BRIEF    OUTLINE    OF    SHAKSPERE'S 
"HAMLET" 

Author 

William  Shakspere 

Born  i$6^       Died  1616 

Kind  of  Book.     Drama  —  Tragedy 

Scene.     Elsinore,  Denmark       Time.     1012 

When  Written.     1603  (Printed) 

Principal  Characters 

1.  Hamlet,  Prince  of  Denmark. 

2.  The  Ghost  of  his  father. 

3.  Claudius,  uncle  of  Hamlet,  and  King  of  Denmark. 

4.  Gertrude,  Hamlet's  mother. 

5.  Horatio,  a  friend  of  Hamlet. 

6.  Polonius,  and  his  children  —  Ophelia  and  Laertes. 

Subordinate  Characters 

1.  Bernardo  and  Marcellus,  officers. 

2.  Rosencrans  and  Guildenstern,  courtiers. 

3.  Voltimand,  Cornelius,  and  Osric,  courtiers. 

4.  Fortinbras,  Prince  of  Norway. 

5.  The  Players. 

6.  Grave-diggers,  Servants,  Soldiers,  English  Ambassa- 
dors, etc. 

«4 


Shahsperes  "Hamlet"  15 

PLOT 

Preliminary  Events  —  Complication 

Introduction 

1.  The  Key-note.  —  The  appearance  of  the  Ghost  upon 

the  platform. 

2.  The  Exposition. 

1.  Chief  Scene.  —  The  king,  queen,  and  Hamlet 

converse. 

2.  Continuation  Scene.  —  Hamlet  alone.     (O,  that 

this  too  solid  flesh,  etc.) 

3.  Connecting  Scene.  —  Hamlet  informed  of  the 

appearance  of  the  Ghost. 

4.  Accessory  Scene.  —  The  departure  of  Laertes. 

The  Exciting  Force 

1 .  Introductory  Key-note.  —  The  expectation   of  the 

Ghost. 

2.  Chief  Scene.  —  The  appearance  of  the  Ghost  to 

Hamlet. 

3.  Transition  Scene.  —  Hamlet  swears  his  friends  to 

silence. 


16  Shahspere's  "Hamlet" 

The  Ascending  Action 
First  Stage. 

1 .  Expository  Scene.  —  Polonius   sends   messages   to 

Laertes. 

2.  Introductoty  Scene.  —  Polonius  inquires  of  Ophelia 

concerning  Hamlet. 

3.  Chief  Scene.  —  Polonius  explains  Hamlet's  condi- 

tion to  the  king. 

4.  Tratisition  Scenes.  — 

a.  Rosencrans  and  Guildenstem  set  to  spy  on 

Hamlet. 
d.  Voltimand  and  Cornelius  bring  peaceful  news 

from  Norway. 

Second  Stage. 

1 .  Introductory  Scene.  —  Polonius,  the  queen,  and  the 

king  discuss  Hamlet's  condition. 

2.  Interpolated  Comic  Scene.  —  Hamlet's  wit  against 

Polonius'  wisdom. 

3.  Chief  Scenes. — 

a.  Rosencrans  and  Guildenstem  converse  with 

Hamlet ;  he  grows  suspicious  ;  news  of  the 
players. 

b.  Hamlet,  Polonius,  and  the  actors. 

4.  Transition  Scene.  —  Hamlet  alone  ;  he  soliloquizes ; 

determines  to  test  the  king  with  the  play. 


Shakspere's  "Hamlet"  17 

Third  Stage. 

1 .  Introductory  Scenes.  — 

a.  Rosencrans  and  Guildenstern  report  to  the 

king  and  queen.     They  plot  to  test  Hamlet 
by  spying  upon  a  meeting  with  Ophelia. 

b.  Hamlet  soliloquizes.    ("To  be,  or  not  to  be.") 

2.  Chief  Scene.  —  Hamlet  and  Ophelia. 

3.  Transition   Scene.  —  The    king   tells    Polonius  his 

suspicions  and  plots  to  send  Hamlet  abroad. 

Fourth  Stage. 

1.  Introductory  Scene.  —  Hamlet   discusses  the  play 

with  the  actors. 

2.  Chief  Scene.  —  The  play. 

3.  Transition  Scenes. — 

a.  Hamlet  and  Horatio. 

b.  Rosencrans  and  Guildenstern  summon  Hamlet 

to  the  queen. 

c.  Hamlet  with  Rosencrans,  Guildenstern,  and 

the  players. 

d.  Hamlet  and  Polonius. 

e.  Hamlet  soliloquizes. 

Prelude  to  the  Climax 

The  king  determines  to  send  Hamlet  abroad. 


18  Shahspere's  "Hamlet" 

Climax 
The  king  prays.     Hamlet  hesitates. 

Tragic  Force  or  Incident 

1.  Chief  Scene.  —  Hamlet  kills  Polonius. 

2.  Transition  Scene.  —  Hamlet's  arraignment  of  the 

queen ;  the  Ghost  again  appears. 

Concluding  Events  —  Resolution 
First  Stage. 

1.  Introductory  Scene.  —  King  and  queen.     The  king 

informed  of  Polonius'  death. 

2.  Chief  Scene.  —  The  king  and  Hamlet. 

Second  Stage. 

1.  Introductory  Scene.  —  Hamlet  and  Fortinbras  meet. 

2.  Chief  Scene.  —  Ophelia's   madness  ;    Laertes'    de- 

mand for  revenge. 

3.  A  Side  Scene.  —  Hamlet's  letter  to  Horatio. 

Third  Stage. 

1 .  Chief  Scene.  —  The  king  and  Laertes  discuss  Ham- 

let's death. 

2.  Transition  Scene.  —  The  queen  announces  Ophelia's 

death. 


Shakspere's  " Hamlet"  19 

Fourth  Stage. 

1 .  Introductory  Scene.  —  Hamlet  and  the  grave-diggers. 

2.  Chief  Scene.  —  Hamlet  and  Laertes  at  Ophelia's 

grave. 

3.  Transition    Scene.  —  Apparent    reconciliation   of 

Hamlet  and  Laertes. 

Catastrophe 
Introduction.  —  Hamlet  and  Horatio  —  hatred  of  the  king. 
Transition.  —  The  announcement  of  Osric. 
Chief  Scene.  —  The  killing :  king  —  queen  —  Laertes  — 

Hamlet. 
Conclusion.  —  Arrival  of  Fortinbras. 

Note.  —  This  outline  is  based  upon  that  of  Freytag.  Many 
authorities  differ  as  to  the  climax.  They  place  it  at  the  play  within 
the  play  scene. 

Quotations 

"  Hamlet.     To  be,  or  not  to  be,  —  that  is  the  question  : 
Whether  'tis  nobler  in  the  mind  to  suffer 
The  slings  and  arrows  of  outrageous  fortune, 
Or  to  take  arms  against  a  sea  of  troubles. 
And  by  opposing  end  them.     To  die,  —  to  sleep, — 
No  more ;  and  by  a  sleep  to  say  we  end 
The  heart-ache  and  the  thousand  natural  shocks 
That  flesh  is  heir  to,  —  'tis  a  consummation 
Devoutly  to  be  wish'd.     To  die,  —  to  sleep,  — 
To  sleep  !  perchance  to  dream  !  ay,  there's  the  rub ; 
For  in  that  sleep  of  death  what  dreams  may  come 


20  Shakspere's  "Hamlet" 

\\Tien  we  have  shuffled  off  this  mortal  coil, 

Must  give  us  pause  :  there's  the  respect 

That  makes  calamity  of  so  long  life  ; 

For  who  would  bear  the  whips  and  scorns  of  time. 

The  oppressor's  wTong,  the  proud  man's  contumely. 

The  pangs  of  dispriz'd  love,  the  law's  delay, 

The  insolence  of  office,  and  the  spurns 

That  patient  merit  of  the  unworthy  takes. 

When  he  himself  might  his  quietus  make 

With  a  bare  bodkin?    \Mio  would  fardels  bear, 

To  grunt  and  sweat  under  a  weary  life, 

But  that  the  dread  of  something  after  death, 

The  undiscover'd  countr}'  from  whose  bourn 

No  traveller  returns,  puzzles  the  will,  • 

And  makes  us  rather  bear  those  ills  we  have 

Than  fly  to  others  that  we  know  not  of  ? 

Thus  conscience  does  make  cowards  of  us  all ; 

And  thus  the  native  hue  of  resolution 

Is  sicklied  over  with  the  pale  cast  of  thought. 

And  enterprises  of  great  pith  and  moment 

With  this  regard  their  currents  turn  awry. 

And  lose  the  name  of  action.  —  " 

"  ^\^lat  a  piece  of  work  is  man  !  how  noble  in  reason  ! 
how  infinite  in  faculty  !  in  form  and  moving  how  express 
and  admirable  !  in  action  how  like  an  angel !  in  appre- 
hension how  like  a  god !  the  beauty  of  this  world  !  the 
paragon  of  animals  !     And  yet,  to  me,  what  is  this  quin- 


Shakspere's  "Hamlet"  21 

tessence  of  dust  ?  man  delights  not  me ;  no,  nor  woman 
neither,  though  by  your  smiling  you  seem  to  say  so." 

Style 

"Hamlet"  exhibits  Shakspere's  style  at  its  highest 
level.  His  unerring  choice  of  apt  words,  his  ingenious 
combinations  of  them,  his  phrase-making  power,  his  skill 
in  adapting  his  language  to  the  mouth  into  which  he  puts 
it,  his  inimitable  power  of  handUng  illuminating  imagery 
are  such  as  probably  no  writer  of  any  language  has  ever 
equalled. 

This  play  likewise  displays  his  unrivalled  power  of  cre- 
ating characters  which  seem  really  alive.  This  power  is 
not  limited  to  any  one  class  or  grade  of  society.  Hamlet 
is  doubtless  as  real  to  us  to-day  as  Queen  Elizabeth.  It 
requires  an  effort  to  remember  that  he  is  really  only 
a  stage  character.  Moreover,  he  has  affected,  —  in- 
fluenced, —  the  world  exactly  as  if  he  were  a  historical 
character,  —  Germans,  Poles,  Danes,  and  Frenchmen  all 
see  in  Hamlet  an  idealization  of  their  own  characters 
Hamlet,  the  prince,  is  not  better  drawn  than  Polonius,  the 
man  of  experience,  of  worldly  wisdom,  which  goes,  after 
all,  only  skin  deep,  —  is  purely  conventional,  purely 
superficial.  In  creating  character,  Shakspere  seems  to 
work  from  within  outward,  not  as  dramatists  of  a  lower 
grade,  from  without  inward. 

"  The  name  of  Shakspere  is  the  greatest  in  all  literature." 

Ballamt. 


22  Shaksperes  "Hamlet" 

"  And  when  the  Ghost  has  vanished,  who  is  it  we  see 
standing  before  us  ?  A  young  hero  panting  for  vengeance  ? 
A  born  prince,  feehng  himself  favoured  in  being  sum- 
moned to  punish  the  usurper  of  his  crown  ?  No  !  Amaze- 
ment and  sorrow  overwhelm  the  solitary  young  man  ;  he 
becomes  bitter  against  smiling  villains,  swears  never  to 
forget  the  departed,  and  concludes  with  the  significant 
ejaculation :  — 

" '  The  time  is  out  of  joint ;  O  cursed  spite, 
That  ever  I  was  born  to  set  it  right ! ' 

In  these  words,  I  imagine,  is  the  key  to  Hamlet's  whole 
procedure,  and  to  me  it  is  clear  that  Shakespeare  sought 
to  depict  a  great  deed  laid  upon  a  soul  unequal  to  the 
performance  of  it."  From  Goethe's  "  Wilhelm  Meister." 

"  What  evidence  is  there,  then,  for  saying  that  Hamlet 
was  weak,  irresolute,  cowardly?  When  he  hears  that  his 
father's  spirit  is  in  arms  he  resolves  to  watch  for  it :  he 
crosses  its  path  and  addresses  it  at  the  risk  of  being 
blasted  :  not  setting  his  life  at  a  pin's  fee,  he  disregards 
the  warnings  of  his  companions,  throws  them  oflF  when 
they  seek  to  restrain  him,  and  puts  himself  in  the  power 
of  the  dread  figure  without  knowing  whether  it  comes 
from  heaven  or  from  hell.  .  .  .  He  is  for  a  moment 
astounded  and  staggered  at  the  monstrosity  of  the  crime. 
But  why  does  he  not  recover  himself,  rush  off,  and  de- 
spatch his  uncle  at  once,  or  at  least  rouse  the  people  as 
Laertes  afterwards  did  when  his  father  was  killed,  and  be- 


Shakspere's  "Hamlet"  23 

sieged  the  palace?  Was  not  this  consideration  paralysing 
action  ?  Most  undoubtedly,  consideration  here  interposed 
between  impulse  and  action ;  but  we  do  not  call  that 
weakness,  irresolution,  or  cowardice.  We  call  it  a  proof 
of  strength  to  refrain  from  rushing  intemperately  into 
action.  .  .  . 

"  But  why  does  Hamlet  still  delay  when  he  has  received 
strong  confirmation  from  the  play?  He  gets  an  oppor- 
tunity :  he  comes  upon  his  uncle  kneeling  in  prayer: 
why  does  he  withhold?  Not  from  fear  :  not  from  irreso- 
lution :  but  from  cold  iron  determination  sure  of  its  victim 
and  resolved  not  to  strike  till  the  most  favourable  moment. 
He  is  tempted  to  the  weakness  of  yielding  to  impulse ; 
but  he  holds  back  with  inflexible  strength.  His  words 
are  instinct  with  the  most  iron  energy  of  will."         Minto. 

"  Shakspere  has  no  pecuHarity,  no  importunate  topic  ; 
but  all  is  duly  given  ;  no  views,  no  curiosities ;  no  cow- 
painter,  no  bird-fancier,  no  mannerist  is  he  ;  he  has  no 
discoverable  egotism  ;  the  great  he  tells  greatly,  the  small, 
subordinately.  He  is  wise  without  emphasis  or  assertion  ; 
he  is  strong,  as  nature  is  strong,  who  lifts  the  »and  into 
mountain  slopes  without  effort,  and  by  the  sa-vie  rule  as 
she  floats  a  bubble  in  the  air,  and  likes  as  well  to  do  the 
one  as  the  other.  This  makes  that  equality  -of  power  in 
farce,  tragedy,  narrative,  and  love-songs  ;  a  merit  so  in- 
cessant that  each  reader  is  incredulous  of  tJ>s  perception 
of  other  readers."  Emerson. 


A    BRIEF    OUTLINE    OF   MILTON'S 
"COMUS" 

Author 

John  Milton 

Born  1608       Died  1665 

Classification.     Drama — Masque 

Scene.   Indefinite      Time.   Indefinite — Remote  past 

When  Written.     1634 

Principal  Characters 

1.  The  Lady. 

2.  Comus  and  his  crew. 

3.  The  Attendant  Spirit. 

Subordinate  Characters 

1.  First  Brother. 

2.  Second  Brother. 

3.  The  river  nymph,  Sabrina. 

PLOT 

Complication 

1.  The  soliloquy  of  the  Attendant  Spirit. 

2.  Comus  and  his  crew  enter  and  dance  riotously. 

3.  The  Lady,  having  lost  her  way,  enters. 

4.  Comus  dismisses  his  crew  and  meets  the  Lady. 

5.  The  Brothers  enter  (Comus  and  Lady  gone). 

6.  Attendant  Spirit  meets  the  Brothers. 

24 


Milton's  "  Comus"  25 

Climax 
The  Lady  refuses  to  drink  the  magic  potion. 
Comus.    "  She  fables  not ;  I  feel  that  I  do  fear 

Her  words  set  off  by  some  superior  power." 

Events  in  the  Resolution 

1.  The  Brothers  rush  in,  disperse  the  train  of  Comus, 

Comus  escapes. 

2.  The  invocation  of  Sabrina. 

3.  Sabrina,  attended  by  water  nymphs,  appears  and 

breaks  the  spell. 

4.  The   Lady  and   her   Brothers   presented   to   their 

father  and  mother. 

5.  The  epilogue  spoken  by  the  Attendant  Spirit. 

Quotations 

"  I  hate  when  Vice  can  bolt  her  arguments 
And  Virtue  has  no  tongue  to  check  her  pride. 

To  him  that  dares 
Arm  his  profane  tongue  with  contemptuous  words 
Against  the  sun-clad  power  of  chastity. 
Fain  would  I  something  say  ;  —  yet  to  what  end? 
Thou  hast  not  ear,  nor  soul,  to  apprehend 
The  sublime  notion  and  high  mystery 
That  must  be  uttered  to  unfold  the  sage 
And  serious  doctrine  of  Virginity. 


26  Milton's  "  Comus" 

Thcu  art  not  fit  to  hear  thyself  convinced. 

Yet,  should  I  try,  the  uncontroU'd  worth 

Of  this  pure  cause  would  kindle  my  rapt  spirits 

To  such  a  flame  of  sacred  vehemence 

That  dumb  things  would  be  moved  to  sympathize. 

And  the  brute  Earth  would  lend  her  nerves,  and  shake, 

Till  all  thy  magic  structures,  reared  so  high, 

Were  shattered  into  heaps  o'er  thy  false  head." 

Style 

Coraus,  while  dramatic  in  form,  is  lyric  in  quality ; 
"the  melody  of  his  smooth-flowing  verses  carries  the 
reader  to  heights  to  which  the  thought  alone  could  never 
lead."  "  In  the  sure  and  flawless  perfection  of  his 
rhythm  and  diction  he  is  as  admirable  as  Virgil  or 
Dante,  and  in  this  respect  he  is  unique  among  us. 
No  one  else  in  English  literature  possesses  the  like 
distinction." 

"The  Comus  is  framed  on  the  model  of  the  Italian 
Masque.  ...  It  is  certainly  the  noblest  performance  of 
the  kind  which  exists  in  any  language.  ,  .  .  The  speeches 
must  be  read  as  majestic  soliloquies  ;  and  he  who  so  reads 
them  will  be  enraptured  by  their  eloquence,  their  sub- 
limity, and  their  music. 

"  Milton's  poetry  acts  like  an  incantation.  .  .  .  The 
names  he  uses  are  charmed  names.  .  .  .  Change  the 
structure  of  the  sentence ;  substitute  one  synonym  for 
another,  and  the  whole  effect  is  destroyed."         Macaulay. 


Milton's  "Comus"  27 

"  But  on  this  slight  and  little  '  incidented '  theme,  while 
treating  even  the  characters  symbolically  and  typically 
rather  than  as  individuals,  Milton  has  contrived  to  broider 
the  most  exquisite  tissue  of  poetry,  both  in  blank  verse 
and  lyric  measures.  Nothing  Hke  the  former  had  yet 
been  seen,  .  .  .  The  redundant  syllable  is  indeed  rather 
abused,  and  it  is  in  this,  and  this  only,  that  *  Comus '  is 
inferior  to  '  Paradise  Lost.'  "  Saintsbury. 

"  That  Milton,  of  all  our  English  race,  is  by  his  diction 
and  rhythm  the  one  artist  of  the  highest  rank  in  the 
great  style  whom  we  have ;  this  I  take  as  requiring  no 
discussion,  this  I  take  as  certain."  Matthew  Arnold. 

ON  MILTON 

Three  Poets,  in  three  distant  ages  bom, 
Greece,  Italy,  and  England  did  adorn ; 
The  first  in  loftiness  of  thought  surpassed. 
The  next  in  majesty,  in  both  the  last. 
The  force  of  nature  could  no  further  go  ; 
To  make  a  third  she  joined  the  other  two. 

Dryden, 


FICTION 


A    BRIEF   OUTLINE    OF    THACKERAY'S 
"HENRY    ESMOND" 

Author 

William  Makepeace  Thackeray 

Born  1811       Died  \Z6Tf 

Kind  of  Book.     Historical  Novel  (or  Romance) 

Scene.   England  —  The  Continent      Time.    1676-1714 

When  Written.     1852 

Principal  Characters 

1.  Henry  Esmond. 

2.  Rachel  Esmond,  Viscountess  Castlewood. 

3.  Francis  Esmond,  Sr  ,  Viscount  Castlewood. 

4.  Francis  Esmond,  Jr.,  Viscount  Castlewood. 

5.  Beatrix  Esmond,  his  sister. 

6.  The  Old  Pretender. 

Subordinate  Characters 

1.  Father  Holt,  Jesuit  conspirator. 

2.  Lord  Mohun. 

3.  Thomas  Esmond,  Henry  Esmond's  father. 

4.  Isabel  Esmond,  Thomas  Esmond's  wife. 

5.  Steele,  Addison,  Swift,  etc. 

6.  Lord  Ashburton,  Hamilton,  etc. 

I 


2  Thackeray's  "Henry  Esmond" 

PLOT 

Preliminary  Events  —  Complication 

Henry  Thomas  is  taken  from  London  to  Castlewood, 
where  he  is  called  Henry  Esmond  and  is  led  to  believe 
that  he  is  the  illegitimate  son  of  Thomas  Esmond. 

He  is  placed  under  the  tutelage  of  Father  Holt,  a 
Jesuit,  and  in  his  childish  way  becomes  cognizant  of  the 
plots  of  the  friends  of  James  H.  against  William  and 
Mary.  His  father  and  Holt  attempt  to  raise  the  country 
in  favor  of  James,  but  are  foiled.  His  father  escapes  to 
Ireland  and  is  killed  at  the  Boyne. 

Castlewood  passes  into  the  hands  of  Francis  Esmond, 
by  whom  and  Rachel,  his  wife,  Httle  Harry  is  kindly  used 
and  educated  with  their  children,  Beatrix  and  Frank. 
Harry  has  the  misfortune  to  bring  the  small-pox  into  the 
family ;  he,  Frank,  and  his  mother  have  it,  while  the  father 
and  Beatrix  leave  the  house  and  escape. 

After  the  father's  return,  an  estrangement  grows  up 
between  the  husband  and  wife.  His  mistress  sends 
Harry  to  Cambridge,  where  he  passes  some  years. 

Upon  his  return,  he  finds  that  a  Lord  Mohun  is  winning 
the  husband's  money  and  attempting  to  win  the  wife.  He 
takes  Lord  Mohun  for  a  ride  on  the  Downs  and  rebukes 
him.  They  are  upset  and  both  injured.  Lady  Castlewood 
is  greatly  agitated  at  the  news  that  "  Harry  "  is  killed. 
Lord  Mohun's  name  is  Harry,  and  my  lord  becomes  jealous. 

My  lord  arranges  his  affairs,  follows  Mohun  to  London, 
fights  with  him,  and  is  slain. 


Thackeray's  "Henry  Esmond"  3 

Climax 

On  his  death-bed,  Francis  Esmond  informs  Harry  that 
he  is  the  true  Viscount  Castlewood.  Harry  decides  to 
conceal  the  fact. 

Concluding  Events  —  Resolution 

For  his  part  in  the  duel,  Harry  is  thrown  into  prison, 
where  Lady  Castlewood  visits  and  reproaches  him  bitterly 
and  will  afterward  (she  says)  have  naught  to  do  with  him. 
The  Dowager,  Isabel,  knowing  his  secret,  takes  him  up. 

He  joins  the  expedition  to  Spain,  and  on  his  return 
visits  Lady  Castlewood  at  Walcote.  A  reconciliation 
takes  place.  He  falls  in  love  with  Beatrix,  who  cares 
naught  for  him. 

He  serves  several  campaigns  and  meets  Holt,  who  tells 
him  his  mother's  story  and  shows  him  her  grave.  He 
still  dangles  attendance  upon  Beatrix,  who,  meanwhile,  is 
engaged  to  several  noblemen. 

Harry  plans  to  bring  over  the  Pretender  in  disguise  as 
Frank  E.,  and  place  him  on  the  throne.  The  Prince 
falls  in  love  with  Beatrix  and,  when  she  is  sent  away, 
follows  her,  thus  losing  his  chance. 

The  two  Esmonds  follow  him,  break  their  swords  in 
his  presence,  and  renounce  his  service.  A  reconciliation 
takes  place,  and  they  return  just  in  time  to  hear  George  I. 
proclaimed. 

Beatrix  follows  the  Prince  to  the  continent.  Harry 
marries  Rachel  Esmond  and  emigrates  to  America. 


4  Thackeray's  "Henry  Esmond" 

Quotations 

"  Fortune,  good  or  ill,  as  I  take  it,  does  not  change  men 
and  women.  It  but  develops  their  characters.  As  there 
are  a  thousand  thoughts  lying  within  a  man  that  he  does 
not  know  till  he  takes  up  the  pen  to  write,  so  the  heart 
is  a  secret  even  to  him  (or  her)  who  has  it  in  his  own 
breast.  Who  hath  not  found  himself  surprised  into 
revenge,  or  action,  or  passion  for  good  or  evil ;  whereof 
the  seeds  lay  within  him,  latent  and  unsuspected  until  the 
occasion  called  them  forth  ?  " 

"  A  man  gets  his  own  experience  about  women  and 
will  take  nobody's  hearsay ;  nor,  indeed,  is  the  young 
fellow  worth  a  fig  that  would.  'Tis  I  that  am  in  love 
with  my  mistress,  not  my  old  grandmother  that  counsels 
me ;  'tis  I  that  have  fixed  the  value  of  the  thing  I  would 
have,  and  know  the  price  I  would  pay  for  it.  It  may  be 
worthless  to  you,  but  'tis  all  my  life  to  me.  Had  Esmond 
possessed  the  Great  Mogul's  crown  and  all  his  diamonds, 
or  all  the  Duke  of  Marlborough's  money,  or  all  the  ingots 
sunk  at  Vigot,  he  would  have  given  them  all  for  this 
woman.  A  fool  he  was  if  you  will,  but,  for  a  certain 
time  of  his  hfe,  the  sole  object  and  aim  (was)  a  woman." 

"  From  one  of  these  doors,  a  wax  candle  in  her  hand, 
and  illuminating  her,  came  Mistress  Beatrix. —  the  light 
falling  indeed  upon  the  scarlet  riband  which  she  wore, 
and  upon  the  most  briUiant  white  neck  in  the  world. 
She  was  beyond  the  common  height.  Her  eyes,  hair, 
and  eyebrows  and  eyelashes  were  dark ;  her  hair  curling 


Thackeray's  "Henry  Esmond"  5 

with  rich  undulations  and  waving  over  her  shoulders,  but 
her  complexion  was  as  dazzling  white  as  snow  in  sunshine, 
except  her  cheeks,  which  were  a  bright  red,  and  her  lips, 
which  were  of  a  still  deeper  crimson.  Her  mouth  and 
chin  were  large  and  full,  her  shape  was  perfect  symmetry, 
and  her  motion,  whether  rapid  or  slow,  was  always  perfect 
grace ;  there  was  no  single  movement  of  hers  but  was 
beautiful." 

Style 

"  As  a  work  of  art  '  Esmond '  is  Thackeray's  master- 
piece ;  as  the  reproduction  of  a  past  age  —  as  a  historical 
novel  —  it  is  unrivalled.  .  .  .  The  way  in  which  Thack- 
eray enters  into  the  spirit  as  well  as  the  letter  of  the  times 
he  describes,  is  wonderful."  r.  h.  Stoddard. 

"  His  scenes  never  seem  invented.  They  come  to 
pass.  Parke  Godwin. 

"  Mr.  Thackeray  indulges  in  the  bad  practice  of  com- 
menting on  his  dramatis  personae."  Edinburgh  Review. 

"  The  greatest  master  of  pure  English  in  our  day." 

H.  H.  Lancaster, 

"  Very  sparing  in  imagery,  perfectly  free  from  con- 
ceits. Athenceum. 

"  The  grace,  flexibility,  and  easy  elegance  of  the  style 
are  especially  notable."  e.  P.  Whipple. 

"  He  was  as  little  of  an  idealizer  as  it  is  possible  to 
be,  Peter  Bayne. 


6  Thackeray's  "Henry  Esmond" 

"  Every  scene  sets  in  relief  a  moral  truth."  Taine. 

"  First  and  foremost  is  his  wonderful  humor  —  a  quality 
in  which  he  is  not  inferior  to  Swift,  Fielding,  or  Dickens." 

Parke  Godwin. 

" '  Esmond '  gives  instructive  exhibitions  of  the  pathol- 
ogy of  the  heart  —  the  pathos  of  secret  home  sorrow." 

H.  A.  Vaughan. 


A   BRIEF    OUTLINE    OF    THACKERAY'S 
"VANITY   FAIR" 

Author 

William  Makepeace  Thackeray 

Born  iZw         Died  1^6^ 

Classification.     Novel  (Realistic) 

Scene.     England  —  London  —  Brussels  —  The  Continent 

Time.    Early  Part  of  the  Nineteenth  Century 

When  Written.    1848 

Principal  Characters 

1.  Rebecca  Sharpe  Crawley. 

2.  Rawdon  Crawley,  her  husband. 

3.  Amelia  Sedley  Osborne. 

4.  George  Osborne,  her  first  husband. 

5.  William  Dobbin,  AmeUa's  persevering  adorer. 

6.  Lord  Steyne. 

Subordinate  Characters 

lo  Joseph  Sedley  and  Old  Sedley. 

2.  Old  Pitt  Crawley,  Young  Pitt  Crawley,  Bute  Crawley. 

3.  Old  Miss  Crawley,  Old  Pitt's  sister. 

4.  Rawdon  Crawley,  Jr. 

5.  George  Osborne,  Jr. 

6.  Relatives,  Servants,  Soldiers,  etc. 

7 


8  Thackeray's  "Vanity  Fair" 

PLOT 

I.   Introduction 
Chapters  i-ii. 

The  six  opening  chapters  introduce  the  reader  to 
Amelia,  Rebecca,  the  Osbornes,  and  Dobbin.  Becky 
fails  to  become  Mrs.  Joseph  Sedley  only  because  of  his 
devotion  to  rack  punch. 

The  next  five  chapters  make  the  reader  acquainted 
with  the  Crawley  family,  with  whom  Becky  resides  as 
governess. 

II.  Development  of  the  Plot 

Chapters  12-26. 

Rebecca  wins  favor  with  the  Crawleys,  especially  Sir 
Pitt,  his  spinster  sister,  and  young  Rawdon,  whom  she 
secretly  marries.  Sir  Pitt  offers  her  his  hand,  which  she  is 
obliged  to  decline  since  she  is  already  his  daughter-in-law. 

Old  Sedley  fails  and  is  sold  up.  Old  Osborne  breaks 
the  engagement  between  George  and  Amelia.  Dobbin 
persuades  George  to  keep  his  promise.  Old  Osborne 
disinherits  George. 

III.   The  Climax 

Chapters  27-32. 

The  principal  characters  go  to  Brussels.  George  is 
killed  at  Waterloo.  The  characters  of  George,  Joseph, 
Amelia,  Dobbin,  and  Rebecca  are  strongly  brought  out 
by  their  conduct  during  this  time. 


Thackeray's  "Vanity  Fair"  9 

IV.   The  Resolution  of  the  Plot 

Chapters  33-46. 

These  chapters  cover  a  long  period  of  time.  Becky 
gradually  rises  in  the  world. 

Although  old  Miss  Crawley  dies,  leaving  Rawdon  noth- 
ing, Becky  manages  to  maintain  herself  in  London  mainly 
through  the  "  disinterested  "  aid  of  Lord  Steyne. 

All  this  time  Amelia  and  her  family  have  sunk  deeper 
and  deeper  in  the  financial  and  social  scale.  But  for  the 
secret  generosity  of  Dobbin,  she  could  hardly  have  existed. 

Chapters  47-55. 

In  these  chapters  Amelia's  fortunes  reach  their  lowest 
point  (chapter  50),  and  she  is  obliged  to  give  up  her  son 
to  his  grandfather  Osborne. 

In  like  manner,  Becky's  fortunes  reach  their  zenith 
(the  party  at  Gaunt  House,  chapter  49,  and  the  charades, 
chapter  51),  whence  she  is  suddenly  plunged  into  the 
abyss  by  Rawdon's  discovery  of  her  in  company  with 
Lord  Steyne  when  she  thinks  him  in  jail  for  debt. 

This  is  the  catastrophe  of  the  story  so  far  as  Becky  is  concerned. 

Chapters  56-61. 

Major  Dobbin  and  Joseph  Sedley  return  from  India. 
Old  Sedley  and  Old  Osborne  die.  Dobbin  becomes  the 
guardian  of  Amelia's  son  and  the  executor  of  Old  Osborne's 
will,  which  places  Amelia  in  affluence  and  restores  her  son 
to  her. 


10  Thackeray's  "Canity  Fair" 

Chapters  62-67. 

Dobbin,  Amelia,  little  George,  and  Joseph  travel  on  the 
Continent,  where  they  meet  Becky,  who  ensnares  Joseph 
and  is  taken  in  by  Amelia.  Dobbin  protests  and  is  sent 
about  his  business.  Becky,  Joseph,  and  Amelia,  with 
little  George,  go  to  Ostend,  where  they  fall  in  with  bad 
company.  Amelia  summons  Dobbin,  just  after  which 
Becky  reveals  George  Osborne's  infidelity,  showing  the 
very  note  in  which,  the  night  before  Waterloo,  he  had 
asked  her  to  elope  with  him.  Dobbin  returns  "  and  they 
live  happy  ever  afterward." 

This  is  the  denouement  so  far  as  Amelia  is  concerned. 

Becky  holds  her  grip  on  Joseph,  who  dies  in  a  suspicious 
manner,  after  which  she  returns  to  England  with  plenty 
of  money  to  spend. 

Rawdon  Crawley  dies,  and  soon  after.  Sir  Pitt,  the 
younger,  which  leaves  young  Rawdon,  Becky's  son,  heir 
to  Queen's  Crawley.  He,  however,  refuses  to  see  his 
mother,  to  whom  he  makes  an  allowance. 

Quotations 

"  The  meaning  of  the  above  series  of  queries,  as  trans- 
lated in  the  heart  of  this  ingenious  young  woman  (Becky), 
was  simply  this  :  '  If  Mr.  Joseph  Sedley  is  rich  and  un- 
married, why  should  I  not  marry  him  ?  I  have  only  a 
fortnight,  to  be  sure,  but  there  is  no  harm  in  trying.' 
And  she  determined  within  herself  to  make  this  laudable 


Thackeray's  "Vanity  Fair"  11 

attempt.  She  redoubled  her  caresses  to  Amelia;  she 
kissed  the  white  Cornelian  necklace  as  she  put  it  on ; 
and  vowed  she  would  never,  never  part  with  it." 

The  quotation  above  gives  us  what  in  a  drama  would  be  called  "  the 
exciting  cause  "  —  Becky's  determination  to  rise  in  the  social  scale  "  by 
hook  or  by  crook."  Marriage  seems  to  her  the  only  means  of  doing 
so,  and  she  is  determined  to  marry  wealth  or  rank,  or  both,  and  is  not 
at  all  concerned  about  the  other  factors  in  the  case. 

"  At  last  George  came  back  for  Rebecca's  shawl  and 
flowers.  She  was  going  away.  She  did  not  even  conde- 
scend to  come  back  and  say  good-by  to  Amelia.  The 
poor  girl  let  her  husband  come  and  go  without  saying  a 
word,  and  her  head  fell  on  her  breast.  Dobbin  had  been 
called  away,  and  was  whispering  deep  in  conversation 
with  the  general  of  the  division,  his  friend,  and  had  not 
seen  this  last  parting.  George  went  away  with  the  bou- 
quet, but  when  he  gave  it  to  the  owner,  there  lay  a  note, 
like  a  snake,  among  the  flowers.  Rebecca's  eye  caught 
it  at  once.  She  had  been  used  to  deal  with  notes  in 
early  life.  She  put  out  her  hand  and  took  the  nosegay. 
He  saw  by  her  eyes  as  they  met  that  she  was  aware  of 
what  she  should  find  there.  .  .  . 

"  His  wife  saw  the  one  part,  at  least,  of  the  bouquet- 
scene.  It  was  quite  natural  that  George  should  come  at 
Rebecca's  request  to  get  her  scarf  and  flowers ;  it  was  no 
more  than  he  had  done  twenty  times  in  the  course  of  the 
last  few  days,  but  now  it  was  too  much  for  her.  '  WiUiam,' 
she  said,  suddenly  chnging  to  Dobbin,  who  was  near  her, 
*  you've  always  been  very  kind  to  me,  I'm  —  I'm  not  well. 


12  Thackeray's  "Canity  Fair" 

Take  me  home.'  She  did  not  know  she  called  him  by  his 
Christian  name,  as  George  was  accustomed  to  do.  He 
went  with  her  quickly." 

This  gives  the  situation  of  affairs  with  regard  to  the  principal  charac- 
ters six  weeks  after  Amelia's  marriage  to  George  Osborne. 

"  No  more  firing  was  heard  at  Brussels  —  the  pursuit 
rolled  miles  away.  Darkness  came  down  on  field  and 
city :  Amelia  was  praying  for  George,  who  was  lying  on 
his  face,  dead,  with  a  bullet  through  his  heart." 

This  is  the  central  point  of  the  climax. 

"  He  (Lord  Steyne)  thought  a  trap  had  been  laid  for 
him,  and  was  as  furious  with  the  wife  as  with  the  husband. 

*  You  innocent  !  Damn  you,'  he  screamed  out.  '  You 
innocent !  Why  every  trinket  you  have  on  your  body  is 
paid  for  by  me.  I  have  given  you  thousands  of  pounds, 
which  this  fellow  has  spent,  and  for  which  he  has  sold  you. 

Innocent,  by !     You  are  as  innocent  as  your  mother, 

the  ballet  girl,  and  your  husband,  the  bully.  Don't  think 
to  frighten  me  as  you  have  done  others.  Make  way,  sir, 
and  let  me  pass ;  "  and  Lord  Steyne  seized  up  his  hat, 
and,  with  flame  in  his  eyes,  and  looking  his  enemy  fiercely 
in  the  face,  marched  upon  him,  never  for  a  moment 
doubting  that  the  other  would  give  way. 

"  But  Rawdon  Crawley,  springing  out,  seized  him  by  the 
neckcloth,  until  Steyne,  almost  strangled,  writhed,  and 
bent  under  his  arm.     '  You  lie,  you  dog  ! '  said  Rawdon. 

*  You  lie,  you  coward  and  villain  ! '     And  he  struck  the 


Thackeray's  "Vanity  Fair"  I3 

peer  twice  over  the  face  with  his  open  hand,  and  flung 
him  bleeding  to  the  ground.  It  is  all  done  before  Rebecca 
could  interpose.  She  stood  there  trembling  before  him." 
She  admired  her  husband,  strong,  brave,  and  victorious. 

" '  Come  here,'  he  said.     She  came  at  once. 

" '  Take  off  those  things.'  She  began,  trembling,  pull- 
ing the  jewels  from  her  arms,  and  the  rings  from  her 
shaking  fingers,  and  held  them  all  in  a  heap,  quivering 
and  looking  up  at  him.  'Throw  them  down,'  he  said, 
and  she  dropped  them.  He  tore  the  diamond  ornament 
out  of  her  breast  and  flung  it  at  Lord  Steyne.  It  cut 
him  on  his  bald  forehead.  Steyne  wore  the  scar  to  his 
dying  day." 

This  is  the  catastrophe  so  far  as  Rebecca  is  concerned.  It  is  said 
that  when  Thackeray  finished  the  italicized  sentence  he  threw  down  his 
pen  and  exclaimed,  "  There,  that  is  a  stroke  of  genius  !  " 

"  '  Couldn't  forget  him  /'  cried  out  Becky,  '  that  selfish 
humbug,  that  low-bred  cockney-dandy,  that  padded 
booby,  who  had  neither  wit,  manners,  nor  heart,  and  was 
no  more  to  be  compared  to  your  friend  of  the  bamboo 
cane  than  you  are  to  Queen  Elizabeth.  Why,  the 'man 
was  weary  of  you,  and  would  have  jilted  you,  but  that 
Dobbin  forced  him  to  keep  his  word.  He  owned  it  to  me. 
He  never  cared  for  you.  He  used  to  sneer  about  you  to 
me,  time  after  time,  and  made  love  to  me  the  week  after 
he  married  you.' 

" '  It's  false  !  It's  false  !  Rebecca,'  cried  out  Amelia, 
starting  up. 


14  Thackeray's  "  Vanity  Fair  " 

"  '  Look  there,  you  fool,'  Becky  said,  still  with  provoking 
good-humor,  and  taking  a  little  paper  out  of  her  belt,  she 
opened  it,  and  flung  it  into  Emmy's  lap.  '  You  know  his 
handwriting.  He  wrote  that  to  me  —  wanted  me  to  run 
away  with  him  —  gave  it  me  under  your  nose,  the  day 
before  he  was  shot  —  and  served  him  right ! '  Becky 
repeated.  ...     It  was  as  she  said.  .  .  . 

" '  And  now  let  us  get  pen  and  ink,  and  write  him  to 
come  this  minute,'  she  said. 

*"  I  —  I  wrote  him  this  morning,'  Emmy  said,  blushing 
exceedingly.     Becky  screamed  with  laughter." 

This  is  the  denouement  so  far  as  Amelia  is  concerned. 

Style 

"  His  men,  if  not  absurd,  are  tyrants  or  rogues ;  his 

women,  if  not  fools,  are  intriguers  or  flirts." 

fV.  IV.  Senior. 

"  Thackeray's  personages  are  all  men,  those  of  Dickens 
personified  oddities."  Lowell. 

"  George  Osborne,  Dobbin,  and  Amelia  are  characters 
almost  literally  true  to  nature."  E.  P.  Whipple. 

"  Whoever  it  is  that  speaks  in  his  pages,  does  it  not 
seem  that  such  a  person  would  certainly  have  used  such 
words  on  such  an  occasion?"  Anthony  Trollope. 

"  He  neither  dallied  with  antitheses,  like  Macaulay,  nor 
rioted  in  verbal  vulgarisms  with  Dickens ;  he  abstained 
from  technology  as  carefully  as  George  Eliot  indulged  in 
it."  W.  E.  HenUy. 


Thackeray's  "Inanity  Fair"  15 

**  Surely  that  style,  so  fresh,  so  rich,  so  full  of  surprises 
—  that  style  which  stamps  as  classical  even  his  fragments 
of  slang,  and  perpetually  astonishes  and  delights  —  would 
alone  give  immortaUty  to  an  author,  even  had  he  little  to 
say."  Andrew  Lang. 

"  We  can  only  speak  of  it  as  Thackeray's  own  —  original, 
vigorous,  natural,  limpid,  idiomatic,  and  flexible  —  a  per- 
fect vehicle  for  the  man's  peculiar  spirit,"     Parke  Godwin. 

"  Nobody  in  our  day  wrote,  I  should  say,  with  such 
perfection  of  style."  Carlyle. 

"  Thackeray,  too,  has  a  strong  flavor  of  Thackeray.  I 
am  inclined  to  think  that  his  most  besetting  sin  in  style — 
the  little  earmark  by  which  he  is  most  conspicuous  —  a 
certain  afiected  familiarity."  Anthony  Trollope. 

"The  continual  presence  of  the  writer  himself,  making 
himself  the  companion  of  the  reader  —  gossiping,  sneering, 
laughing,  crying,  as  the  narrative  proceeds  —  combine  to 
produce  an  effect  which  nobody,  to  say  the  least,  ever 
found  dull."  E.  P.  Whipple. 

"  The  effect  of  his  writing  must  surely  be  to  make  honest 
men  hate  all  manner  of  cant."  /.  C.  Watt. 

"  He  is  the  first  social  regenerator  of  his  day." 

Charlotte  Bronte. 

"  Everybody,  on  reading  his  works,  is  quite  convinced 

that  the  author  has  seen  what  he  sets  forth." 

Parke  Godwin. 


16  Thackeray's  "Inanity  Fair" 

" '  Vanity  Fair '  is  a  moving  panorama  of  life,  with  a 
hundred  side  scenes  and  episodes  of  interest,  and  with  a 
reality  and  fullness  of  humanity  which  have  never  been 
surpassed."  Mrs.  Oliphant. 

"  He  could  not  have  painted  *  Vanity  Fair '  as  he  has 
unless  Eden  had  been  shining  brightly  in  his  inner  eyes." 

G.  Brimley. 

The  reader  should  note  Thackeray's  knack  of  hitting 
off  a  character  by  an  appropriate  name.  Examples  are 
numerous  in  "Vanity  Fair,"  though  they  do  not  tend 
so  much  toward  the  burlesque  as  in  some  of  his  works  : 
Miss  Minerva  Pinkerton,  Miss  Birch,  Miss  Becky  Sharpe, 
Mr.  Crisp,  Mr.  Cuff,  Dobbin,  Sir  Pitt  Crawley,  Mr.  Bul- 
lock, Mrs.  Tinker,  Lady  Fuddleston,  Ensign  Spoony, 
Ensign  Stubble,  Miss  Swartz,  Mr.  Deuceace,  Lady  Bare- 
acres.  An  amusing  thing  about  these  names  is  that  some 
of  the  oddest  are  real  names,  as  the  reader  may  prove 
by  searching  the  directory  of  any  large  city  or  scanning 
the  pages  of  our  newspapers. 


A    BRIEF     OUTLINE     OF    COOPERS 
"THE  LAST  OF  THE  MOHICANS" 

Author 

James  Fenimore  Cooper 

Born  1789         Died  1851 

Kind  of  Book.     Romance  of  Adventure  (Slightly 

Historical) 

Scene.   Northeastern  New  York — Lake  George  — 

Lake  Cham  plain 

Time.     1757 

When  Written.     1826 

Principal  Characters 

1.  Major  Duncan  Heyward  (Open  Hand),  Colonel  of 
the  Sixtieth  Royal  Americans. 

2.  Alice  and  Cora  Munro,  Daughters  of  Colonel  Munro, 
Commandant  Fort  William  Henry. 

3.  Natty  Bumpo  (^La  Longue  Carabine^  (Hawkeye),  a 
scout. 

4.  Uncas  {La  Cerf  Agile)  (Bounding  Deer),  a  Dela- 
ware Indian. 

5.  Chingachgook  {Le  Gros  Serpent)  (The  Great  Ser- 
pent) ,  father  of  Uncas. 

6.  Magua  {Le   Reynard  Subtil)  (The  Wily  Fox),  a 
drunken,  renegade  Mingo. 

17 


18       Cooper's  "  The  Last  of  the  Mohicans" 

Subordinate  Characters 

1.  David  Gamut,  a  half-witted  Connecticut  singing 
master. 

2.  Montcalm,  the  French  general. 

3.  Tamenund,  the  aged  Delaware  sage. 

4.  General  Webb,  the  cowardly  commandant  of  Fort 
Edward. 

5.  Reed- that- Bends,  the  cowardly  Huron. 

6.  Soldiers,  Indians,  etc. 

PLOT  {First  Part)* 
Preliminary  Events  —  Complication 

Heyward,  with  Cora  and  Alice,  under  guidance  of  Magna, 
attempt  to  travel  by  a  short  cut  from  Fort  Edward  upon 
the  Hudson  to  Fort  William  Henry.  The  treacherous 
Indian  pretends  to  lose  the  way.  Luckily,  at  this  juncture, 
they  fall  in  with  Hawkeye,  Uncas,  and  Chingachgook. 

Attempt  is  made  to  capture  Magna,  who  escapes 
wounded.  After  consultation,  they  abandon  their  horses 
and  take  refuge  in  the  cavern  at  Glenn's,  where  they  are 
besieged  by  the  Hurons,  whom  they  repulse  while  powder 
holds  out. 

The  scouts  escape  by  the  river,  leaving  the  two  girls  and 
Heyward,  who  are  captured  and  carried  to  a  certain  table- 
land where  their  captors  bivouac. 

*  There  are  really  in  this  novel  two  plots,  each  of  which  is  fairly  com- 
plete in  itself. 


Cooper's  "  The  Last  of  the  Mohicans"        19 

Climax 

Magua  offers  to  release  the  others  if  Cora  will  share  his 
wigwam.  When  she  spurns  his  offer,  he  prepares  to  tor- 
ture them.  At  the  critical  moment,  the  three  scouts  come 
to  the  rescue  and  kill  the  Mingoes,  except  Magua,  who 
escapes. 

Concluding  Events  —  Resolution 

The  rescued  and  rescuers  set  out  for  Fort  William 
Henry.  They  pass  the  night  in  a  ruined  blockhouse, 
where,  in  the  morning,  they  escape  capture  by  a  party  of 
hostile  Indians  only  by  reason  of  the  reverence  of  the 
savages  for  the  graves  of  those  who  were  buried  in  a 
little  mound  before  its  door. 

They  proceed  and,  getting  in  touch  with  Montcalm's 
sentries  in  a  fog,  barely  escape  capture.  Approaching 
the  fort,  they  find  themselves  between  two  fires,  and 
escape  destruction  only  by  making  themselves  known  to 
Colonel  Munro. 

Quotations 

"  *  Lady,'  returned  the  scout,  solemnly,  *  I  have  listened 
to  all  the  sounds  of  the  woods  for  thirty  years,  as  a  man  will 
Hsten  whose  Hfe  and  death  depend  on  the  quickness  of  his 
ears.  There  is  no  whine  of  the  panther,  no  whistle  of  the 
catbird,  nor  any  invention  of  the  devilish  Mingoes,  that 
can  cheat  me  !  I  have  heard  the  forest  moan  like  mortal 
men  in  their  affliction  ;  often  and  again  have  I  listened  to 
the  wind  playing  its  music  in  the  branches  of  the  girdled 


20        Cooper's  "  The  Last  of  the  Mohicans  " 

trees ;  and  I  have  heard  the  lightning  cracking  in  the  air, 
like  the  snapping  of  blazing  brush,  as  it  spitted  forth 
sparks  and  forked  flames ;  but  never  have  I  thought  that 
I  heard  more  than  the  pleasure  of  Him  who  sported  with 
the  things  of  His  hand.  But  neither  the  Mohicans,  nor 
I,  who  am  a  white  man  without  a  cross,  can  explain  the 
cry  just  heard.  We,  therefore,  believe  it  a  sign  given  for 
our  good.' " 

PLOT  {Second  Part) 
Preliminary  Events  —  Complication 

Colonel  Munro,  deserted  by  Webb,  the  cowardly  com- 
mander of  P'ort  Edward,  is  obliged  to  surrender  to  Mont- 
calm, who  grants  him  all  the  honors  of  war  and  assures 
him  of  protection  against  the  Indians.  Notwithstanding 
this,  the  Indians  assault  the  retreating  troops  and  a  hideous 
slaughter  ensues.  Magua,  ever  mindful  of  his  revenge 
for  the  lashing  Munro  once  ordered  given  him  for 
drunkenness,  seizing  this  opportunity,  carries  off"  the  two 
girls,  and  makes  his  way  through  the  woods  toward 
Canada. 

Three  days  after,  Munro,  Heyward,  Hawkeye,  Uncas, 
and  Chingachgook  start  in  pursuit.  Passing  down  the 
Horican  (Lake  George),  they  escape  capture  by  swift 
paddling  and  the  superior  range  of  "  Killdeer." 

Landing  on  the  west  shore,  they  pick  up  Magua's  trail 
and  fall  in  with  Gamut,  who  had  followed  the  captured 


Cooper's  "The  Last  of  the  Mohicans"        21 

girls,  and  had  been  allowed  at  large  because  of  their 
respect  for  his  supposed  insanity. 

Climax 
Heyward  enters  the  Indian  village  in  the  character  of 
a  French  medicine  man,  and,  with  the  help  of  Hawkeye, 
disguised  in  the  bear  dress  of  an  Indian  conjurer  whom 
he  captures,  rescues  Alice,  and  seeks  refuge  in  a  Delaware 
village,  where  Cora  has  been  left  by  Magua. 

Concluding  Events  —  Resolution 

Hawkeye  returns  to  the  hostile  village,  rescues  Uncas, 
and  follows  Heyward  to  the  Delaware  camp.  Only 
Chingachgook  and  Munro  are  left  undiscovered  in  a 
beaver  hut.  Magua  demands  his  captives  from  the 
Delawares,  who  are  about  to  yield  them,  when  they  dis- 
cover the  totum  of  Uncas.  Uncas  confesses  that  Magua 
has  the  right  of  a  conqueror  over  Cora,  whom  he  carries 
off  to  his  camp. 

A  fight  ensues  in  which  Cora,  Uncas,  and  Magua  are 
killed.     The  victory  remains  with  the  Delawares. 

After  the  burial  of  Cora  Munro,  Heyward,  Alice,  and 
Gamut  return  to  the  settlements,  where  Heyward  and 
Alice  are  married.  Munro,  borne  down  with  his  military 
and  domestic  losses,  soon  dies. 

Quotations 
" '  What  is  ordered  must  sooner  or  later  arrive,'  continued 
Hawkeye,  turning  with  a  sad  and  humbled  look  to  Uncas. 


22        Cooper's  "  The  Last  of  the  Mohicans" 

'  The  varlet  knows  his  advantage,  and  will  keep  it !  God 
bless  you,  boy;  you  have  found  friends  among  your  natural 
kin,  and  I  hope  they  will  prove  as  true  as  some  you  have 
met  who  had  no  Indian  cross.  As  for  me,  sooner  or  later 
I  must  die ;  it  is  therefore  fortunate  there  are  but  few  to 
make  my  death-howl.  After  all,  it  is  likely  the  imps  would 
have  managed  to  master  my  scalp,  so  a  day  or  two  will 
make  no  great  difference  in  the  everlasting  reckoning 
of  time.  God  bless  you,'  added  the  rugged  woodsman, 
bending  his  head  aside,  and  then  instantly  changing  its 
direction  again,  with  a  wistful  look  toward  the  youth  :  '  I 
loved  both  you  and  your  father,  Uncas,  though  our  skins 
are  not  altogether  of  a  color,  and  our  gifts  are  somewhat 
different.  Tell  the  sagamore  I  never  lost  sight  of  him  in 
my  greatest  trouble ;  and,  as  for  you,  think  of  me  some- 
times when  on  a  lucky  trail;  and  depend  on  it,  boy, 
whether  there  be  one  heaven  or  two,  there  is  a  path  in 
the  other  world  by  which  honest  men  may  come  together 
again.  You'll  find  the  rifle  in  the  place  we  hid  it ;  take 
it,  and  keep  it  for  my  sake ;  and  harkee,  lad,  as  your 
natural  gifts  don't  deny  you  of  the  use  of  vengeance,  use 
it  a  little  freely  on  the  Mingoes  ;  it  may  unburden  grief  at 
my  loss,  and  ease  your  mind.  Huron,  I  accept  your  offer; 
release  the  woman.     I  am  your  prisoner ! '  " 

Style 

"  *  The  Last  of  the  Mohicans '  (is)  probably  the  best 
and  most  popular  of  all  his  romances.     Merely  as  a 


Cooper's  "  The  Last  of  the  Mohicans"        2} 

story  of  thrilling  adventures  it  would  be  worthy  of  high 
praise,  but  it  is  much  more  than  this.  It  is  full  of  the 
poetry  of  the  forest,  which  is  especially  embodied  in  the 
great  hunter,  Hawkeye,  in  whom  the  nobler  elemental 
qualities  of  the  race  are  '  bound  each  to  each  by  natural 
piety.'  The  more  sophisticated  characters  do  not  specially 
attract,  but  they  at  least  pass  muster,  and  the  Indians, 
Chingachgook  and  Uncas,  are  entirely  worthy  of  Natty's 
friendship.  .  .  . 

"  When  the  spirit  ...  of  the  woods  is  upon  him  he 
becomes  a  genuine  poet ;  when  he  is  dealing  with  hun- 
ters and  trappers  and  Indians  ...  he  becomes  a 
genuine  dramatist.  Perhaps  not  even  Scott  has  given  the 
world  such  an  individualized  creation  as  Natty  Bumpo. 

"  Never  a  great  stylist,  he  is  often  an  execrable  one.  .  .  . 
(But)  to  criticise  such  a  genius  minutely  as  one  would  a 
sonneteer  is  ridiculous.  ...  As  a  large  creative  genius 
he  is  probably  without  a  rival  among  American  authors." 

Treni. 

"  Cooper  is  the  foremost  of  Scott's  followers,  no  doubt, 
and  in  skill  of  narration,  in  the  story-telling  faculty,  in 
the  gift  of  imparting  interest  to  the  incidents  of  a  tale, 
Cooper  at  his  best  is  not  inferior  to  Scott  at  his  best. 
But  Scott  had  far  more  humor  and  far  more  insight  into 
human  nature."  Matthews. 

"  It  is  a  restful  chapter  in  any  book  of  Cooper's  when 
somebody  doesn't  step  on  a  dry  twig  and  alarm  all  the 


24       Cooper's  "  The  Last  of  the  Mohicans  " 

reds  and  whites  for  two  hundred  yards  around.  Every 
time  a  Cooper  person  is  in  peril,  and  absolute  silence  is 
worth  four  dollars  a  minute,  he  is  sure  to  step  on  a  dry 
twig.  There  may  be  a  hundred  handier  things  to  step 
on,  but  that  wouldn't  satisfy  Cooper.  Cooper  requires 
him  to  turn  out  and  find  a  dry  twig ;  and  if  he  can't  do 
it,  go  and  borrow  one.  In  fact  the  Leather  Stocking 
Series  ought  to  have  been  called  the  Broken  Twig  Series." 

Mark  Twain. 


A  BRIEF   OUTLINE  OF   HAWTHORNE'S 
"THE  HOUSE  OF  THE  SEVEN  GABLES" 

Author 

Nathaniel  Hawthorne 

Born  1804       Died  1854 

Kind  of  Book.     A  Romance 

Scene.   Salem,  Mass.         Time.   Colonial  and  Modem 

When  Written.     1851 

Principal  Characters 

1.  Hepzibah   and    her    3.  Judge    Pyncheon,    their 

brother  —  cousin. 

2.  Clifford  Pyncheon,  con-    4.  Phoebe,    cousin    of    the 

victed  of  murder.  three  Pyncheons. 

5.    Holgrave  (Maule),  the  photographer. 

Subordinate  Characters 

1.  Colonel  Pyncheon.  4.  Matthew  Maule, grandson 

2.  Old  Matthew  Maule,  the  of  Old  Matthew  Maule 

executed  wizard.  5.  Gervayse  Pyncheon  and 

3.  Thomas  Maule,  his  son.  his  daughter. 

6.    Alice  Pyncheon. 
25 


26    Hawthorne's  "  The  House  of  the  Seven  Gables'* 


PLOT 

Complication 

Central  Idea  —  the  Influence  of  Heredity 


The  legend  of  Colonel 
Pyncheon  and  Old 
Matthew  Maule.  The 
building  of  the  House 
of  the  Seven  Gables. 
Death  of  Colonel 
Pyncheon.  The  land 
grant.  The  Pyncheon 
family.  The  picture 
on  the  wall.  The 
murder.  Apparent 
extinction  of  the 
Maules.  Description 
of  the  old  house. 
The  shop. 

Miss  Hepzibah. 

The  first  customer. 


9- 

10. 

II. 


Climax 


Cousin  J  affray,  the 
Judge.  Uncle  Ven- 
ner's  advice.  Phoe- 
be's arrival. 

Phoebe  takes  charge. 

Phoebe  meets  Holgrave 
in  the  garden. 

Clififord's  return. 

The  Judge  calls  to  see 
Clifford. 

Clifford  and  Phoebe. 

The  garden  arbor.  The 
one  chick.  The  feast. 

Hepzibah  and  Clifford 
attempt  to  go  to 
church. 

The  arched  window. 
Soap  bubbles. 


13-14.  The  Story  of  Alice  Pyncheon  and  young  Matthew 
Maule.  Holgrave  half  mesmerizes  Phoebe.  She 
returns  to  the  country. 


Hawthorne's  "  The  House  of  the  Seven  Gables  "    27 

Resolution 

15.  The  Judge  demands  Clifford's  secret. 
16-17.    The  flight  of  the  two  owls  —  Hepzibah  and 
Clifford. 

18,  Judge  Pyncheon  sits  alone  in  the  House  of  the 

Seven  Gables  —  dead. 

19.  The  closed  shop.     The  silent  house.     The  disap- 

pointed customers.     Phoebe's  return. 

20,  Holgrave's  declaration.     Accepted. 

21.  Conclusion.     The  inheritance.    The  hidden  deed. 

The  departure. 

Catastrophe 
Death  of  Judge  Pyncheon. 

Quotations 

"  Old  Matthew  Maule  was  one  of  the  martyrs  to  that 
terrible  delusion,  which  should  teach  us  among  its  other 
morals,  that  the  influential  classes,  and  those  who  take 
upon  themselves  to  be  leaders  of  the  people,  are  fully 
liable  to  all  the  passionate  error  that  ever  characterized 
the  maddest  mob." 

"  Hence,  too,  might  be  drawn  a  weighty  lesson  from 
the  little-regarded  truth,  that  the  act  of  the  passing  gen- 
eration is  the  germ  which  may  and  must  produce  good 
or  evil  fruit,  in  a  far-distant  time ;  that,  together  with  the 
seed  of  the  merely  temporary  crop,  which  mortals  term 


28    Hawthorne* s  "  The  House  of  the  Seven  Gables  " 

expediency,  they  inevitably  sow  the  acoms  of  a  more 
enduring "  growth  which  may  darkly  overshadow  their 
posterity." 

Style 

"  His  affinity  with  the  weird,  the  mysterious,  the  super- 
natural." G.  S.  Hillard. 

"  An  air  of  mystery  broods  over  every  scene." 

F.  H.  Underwood. 

"Subtle  analysis  of  spiritual  moods  ...  at  home  in 
the  darkest  recesses  of  the  human  heart."     /.  A.  Symonds. 

"  Hawthorne  was  imagination  in  the  flesh." 

J.  V.  Cheney. 

"  He  was  a  democratic  quietist.  .  .  .    Anyreal  and  deep 
reform  .  .  .  accomplishes  itself."  R.  H.  Hutton. 

"  He  had  spiritual  insight,  but  did  not  penetrate  to  the 
sources  of  spiritual  joy."  Whipple. 

"  Lifelike  in  minutiae  and  so  picturesque  in  general 
effect."  Tucker-man. 

"  Hawthorne  writes  English  ...  the  sweetest,  simplest, 
clearest  English."  Whipple. 

"  An  idealist ;  he  idealized  the  real.     *  Born  lover  of 
romance.' "  Hutton. 

"  Moral  idea  .  .  .  not  only  pure  but  noble."       Hutton. 


A   BRIEF    OUTLINE    OF    SCOTT'S 
"IVANHOE" 

Author 

Sir  Walter  Scott 

Born  1 7  71         Died  1832 

Kind  of  Book.     A  Historical  Romance 

Scene.     Northeastern  England         Time.     11 94 

When  Written.     1820 

Principal  Characters 

1.  Ivanhoe  and  Cedric,  his  father. 

2.  Rowena,  Cedric's  ward. 

3.  Rebecca  and  Isaac  the  Jew. 

4.  Brian  de  Bois-Guilbert  and  Prior  Aymer. 

5.  King  Richard  and  Prince  John. 

6.  Robin  Hood  (Locksley)  and  his  Merry  Men. 

Subordinate  Characters 

1.  Gurth  and  Wamba. 

2.  Athelstane. 

3.  Ulrica. 

4.  De  Bracy  and  Waldemar  Fitzurse. 

5.  The  Clerk  of  Copmanhurst. 

6.  The  Grand  Master  of  the  Templars. 

29 


30  Scott's  "Ivanhoe" 

PLOT 
Rising  Action  —  Complication 

1.  At    Rotherwood  —  Meeting    of   Wamba,    Gurth; 
Aymer,  Brian,  Ivanhoe  (the  Palmer),  Cedric,  and  Isaac. 

Chaps.  I-V 

2.  The  tournament  at  Ashby  de  la  Zouche.     Ivanhoe 
victor  in  the  lists  —  Locksley  in  archery      .     .    VI-XIII. 

3.  The    banquet  —  John    and    his    courtiers    insult 
Cedric „     .     .     .     .      XIV 

4.  De  Bracy  plots  to  kidnap  Rowena  ....    XV 

5.  The  Black  Knight  and  the  Clerk  of  Copmanhurst 

XVI-XVII 

6.  Cedric  plans  to  wed  Rowena  to  Athelstane    XVIII 

7.  Cedric,  Ivanhoe,  Rowena,  Athelstane,   Rebecca, 
and  Isaac  prisoners XIX 

8.  Locksley  and  the  Black  Knight  to  the  rescue.    XX 

9.  The  captives  in  the  Castle  of  Torquilstone. 

XXI- XXIV 
10.  The  siege  of  the  Castle     ....     XXV-XXX 

Climax 

The  Storming  of  Torquilstone  (Ulrica's  Death  Song) 

XXXI 
(Rebecca  carried  off  by  Bois-Guilbert.) 

Falling  Action  —  Resolution 
I.   At  the  trysting  tree  —  division  of  the  spoils. 

XXXII-XXXIII 


Scott's  "  Ivanhoe"  3I 

2.  At  the  Castle  of  York  —  De  Bracy  informs  John 
that  Richard  has  appeared XXXIV 

3.  Isaac  applies  to  the  Grand  Master  to  release  Re- 
becca               XXXV 

4.  Rebecca  accused,  tried,  and  condemned  of  sorcery 

XXXVI-XXXVIII 

5.  Bois-Guilbert  implores  Rebecca  to  fly  with  him. 

XXXIX 

6.  King  Richard  assailed  by  Fitzurse  —  rescued  by 
Locksley XL 

7.  AtConingsburgh — Athelstane  appears.    XLI-XLII 

8.  Ivanhoe  fights  as  Rebecca's  champion — Death  of 
Bois-Guilbert XLIII 

9.  Conclusion  —  Marriage   of  Ivanhoe   and   Rowena 

XLIV 

Quotations 

"'Why,  how  call  you  those  grunting  brutes  running 
about  on  their  four  legs?'  demanded  Wamba. 

" '  Swine,  fool,  swine,'  said  the  herd,  'every  fool  knows 
that.' 

"  '  And  swine  is  good  Saxon,'  said  the  Jester ;  'but  how 
call  you  the  sow  when  she  is  flayed,  drawn,  and  quartered, 
and  hung  up  by  the  heels  like  a  traitor  ? ' 

"  '  Pork,'  answered  the  swineherd. 

"  '  And  pork,  I  think,  is  good  Norman-French ;  and  so 
when  the  brute  lives,  and  is  in  the  charge  of  a  Saxon 
slave,  she   goes   by  her   Saxon   name ;    but   becomes  a 


32  Scott's  "  Ivanboe" 

Norman,  and  is  called  pork,  when  she  is  carried  to  the 
castle  hall  to  feast  among  the  nobles.' 

" '  Nay,  I  can  tell  you  more,'  said  Wamba,  *  there  is 
old  Alderman  Ox  continues  to  hold  his  Saxon  epithet 
while  he  is  under  the  charge  of  serfs  and  bondsmen  such 
as  thou,  but  becomes  Beef,  a  fiery  French  gallant,  when 
he  arrives  before  the  worshipful  jaws  that  are  destined  to 
consume  him.  Mynheer  Calf,  too,  becomes  Monsieur 
de  Veau  in  the  like  manner.'  " 

Style 

"  The  characters,  whether  historical  or  fictitious,  are  as 
natural  and  lifelike  as  if  drawn  from  personal  experience." 

A.  S.  G.  Canning. 

"  Everything  appears  ...  in  its  true  colors,  with  its 
light  and  shade  in  due  proportion."  t.  B.  Shaw. 

"  The  manners,  customs,  language,  ideas,  .  .  .  dresses, 
and  furniture  are  described  with  a  force  and  accuracy 
never  surpassed,  and  perhaps  never  equaled."       Canning. 

"  Nothing  could  be  more  picturesque  and  animated 
than  the  panorama  of  brilliant  and  highly  colored  mediae- 
val life  thus  made  to  pass  before  us."  Mrs.  Oliphant. 

"  He  knew  how  to  tell  a  story."  R.  L.  Stevenson. 

"  Walter  Scott  is  never  bitter."  Taine. 

"  In  dry  humor  .  .  .  Scott  is  a  master."     R.  H.  Huttoti. 


Scott's  "  Ivanhoe  "  33 

"  He  is  elaborate,  (sometimes  tiresomely)  minute." 

/.  Devey. 

"  Costumes,  scenery,  externals  alone  are  exact,  all  the 
rest  is  (modernized)."  Taine. 

"  I  see  in  no  other  such  a  combination  of  truth,  ease, 
and  dramatic  power."  £.  iv.  Procter. 


A    BRIEF    OUTLINE    OF   DICKENS'S 
"A   TALE    OF   TWO    CITIES" 

Author 

Charles  Dickens 

Born  1812  Died  1870 

Kind  of  Book.     A  Historical  Romance 

Scene.     London  —  Paris         Time.     17  75-1 780 

When  Written.     1859 

Principal  Characters 

1.  Charles  Darnay  (Evremonde). 

2.  Doctor  Manette  and  Lucie  Manette. 

3.  Sydney  Carton  and  Jarvis  Lorry. 

4.  The  two  Defarges  —  husband  and  wife. 

5.  The  Vengeance  and  Miss  Pross. 

6.  John  Barsad  alias  Solomon  Pross. 

Subordinate  Characters 

1.  Roger  Cly,  police  spy. 

2.  The  two  Crunchers  —  husband  and  wife. 

3.  Young  Jerry  Cruncher. 

4.  Jacques,  One,  Two,  Three,  Four,  Five. 

5.  Gaspard,  French  assassin. 

6.  Foulon,  revolutionist. 

34 


Dickens's  "A  Tale  of  T-wo  Cities"         35 

PLOT 

Complication 

1.  Jarvis  Lorry  and  Lucie  go  to  Paris  to  seek  Doctor 
Manette. 

2.  They  find  him  a  solitary,  demented  cobbler.     Re- 
turn to  London. 

3.  The  trial  and  acquittal  of  Darnay  for  treason.     The 
question  of  identity. 

4.  Carton  and  Darnay  suitors  for  Lucie's  hand.     She 
chooses  Darnay. 

5.  Events  in  France  —  Darnay  goes  to  Paris. 

Climax 
Darnay  seized  and  imprisoned. 

Resolution 

1.  Doctor   Manette  and    l/ucie  go  to  Darnay's  aid. 
The  Doctor's  influence  as  a  Bastile  prisoner. 

2.  Darnay  released. 

3.  Darnay  rearrested. 

4.  Carton  obtains  entrance  to  prison  —  drugs  Darnay 
and  effects  his  escape. 

5.  Carton  executed. 

6.  Darnay,  Lucie,  the  Doctor,  and  Lorry  return  to 
England. 


36        " Dickens* s  "A  Tale  of  Two  Cities" 

Quotations 

"  I  see  a  beautiful  city  and  a  brilliant  people  rising 
from  the  abyss,  and,  in  their  struggles  to  be  truly  free,  in 
their  triumphs  and  defeats,  through  long,  long  years  to 
come,  I  see  the  evils  of  this  time  and  of  the  previous 
time  of  which  this  is  the  natural  birth,  gradually  making 
expiation  for  itself  and  wearing  out." 

"  It  is  a  far,  far  better  thing  that  I  do,  than  I  have  ever 
done ;  it  is  a  far,  far  better  rest  that  I  go  to  than  I  have 
ever  known." 

Style 

"  *  The  Tale  of  Two  Cities '  has  been  more  differently 
judged  than  any  other  of  his  works ;  some  extolling  it  as 
a  great '  romance,  if  not  quite  a  'great  historical  novel, 
while  others  see  in  it  little  more  than  mixed  mannerism 
and  melodrama."  Saintsbury. 

"  He  will  indulge  .  .  .  in  a  kind  of  trumpery,  strained, 
melodramatic  rant."  Saintsbury. ' 

"  The  slightest  hint  of  the  ludicrous  sometimes  leads 
him  to  the  very  verge  of  caricature."  Whipple. 

"  Of  sheer  wit,  either  in  remark  or  repartee,  there  is 
scarcely  an  instance  in  any  of  his  volumes,  while  of  hu- 
mor there  is  a  fullness  and  gusto  in  every  page." 

J^.  H.  Home. 

"  He  has  a  very  peculiar  power  of  taking  hold  of  some 
particular  traits  and  making  a  character  out  of  them." 

Walter  Bagehot. 


A  BRIEF  OUTLINE  OF  ELIOT'S    "SILAS 
MARNER" 

Author 

George  Eliot 

Born  1 819         Died  1880 

Kind  of  Book.     Novel 

Scene.     Raveloe,  England 

Time.     Early  Part  of  the  Nineteenth  Century 

Whe7i  Written.    1861 

Principal  Characters 

1.  Silas  Marner. 

2.  Godfrey  and  Dunstan  Cass. 

3.  Aaron  Winthrop. 

4.  Eppie. 

5.  Nancy  Lammeter. 

6.  Dolly  Winthrop. 

Subordinate  Characters 

1.  Squire  Cass. 

2.  Solomon  Macy. 

3.  Mr.  Crackenthorp. 

4.  Priscilla  Lammeter. 

5.  Mrs.  Kemble  and  Mrs.  Osgood. 

6.  Molly. 

37 


38  Eliot's  "Silas  Marner" 

PLOT 

Preliminary  Events 

Silas'  earlier  life  at  Lantern  Yard,  the  false  accusation 
of  theft  against  him,  his  subsequent  departure  to  Raveloe, 
and  the  manner  of  his  life  there  until  the  theft  of  his 
hoarded  gold. 

Climax 

"  The  climax  occurs  where  Silas  brings  Eppie  into  the 
ballroom,  and  Nancy  asks  Godfrey  whose  child  it  is. 
Minor  climaxes  are  the  theft  of  the  gold  and  the  finding 
of  Dunstan  Cass'  body."  Heydrick. 

Concluding  Events 

Godfrey's  confession  to  Nancy  after  the  finding  of 
Dunstan's  body,  his  futile  attempt  to  adopt  Eppie,  and 
Eppie's  marriage  to  Aaron  Winthrop.      , 

Quotations 

"  A  weaver  who  finds  hard  words  in  his  hymn  book 
knows  nothing  of  abstractions  :  as  the  little  child  knows 
nothing  of  parental  love." 

"  As  I  say,  Mr.  Have-your-own-way  is  the  best  husband, 
and  the  only  one  I  would  promise  to  obey." 

"  Perfect  love  has  a  breath  of  poetry  which  can  exalt 
the  relations  of  the  least  instructed  human  beings." 

"  In  old  days  there  were  angels  who  came  and  took 
men  by  the  hand  and  led  them  away  from  the  city  of 


Eliot's  "Silas  Marner"  39 

destruction.  We  see  no  white-winged  angels  now.  But 
yet  men  are  led  away  from  threatening  destruction  ;  a 
hand  is  put  in  theirs,  which  leads  them  forth  gently 
toward  a  calm  and  bright  land,  so  that  they  look  no  more 
backward ;  and  the  hand  may  be  a  little  child's." 

Style 

"  The  style,  though  not  strongly  individual,  is  in  general 
direct  and  at  times  animated.  It  has  clearness,  force, 
and  beauty :  but  it  can  hardly  be  said  that  one  quality  is 
more  marked  than  another."  Heydrick. 

"  George  Eliot  shows  man  what  he  may  be,  in  terms  of 
what  he  is."  Lanier. 

"  George  Eliot  had  seen  too  much  of  life,  and  observed 
character  too  closely,  to  fall  into  the  error  of  dividing 
men  and  women  into  angels  and  demons."  C7-oss. 

"  Dickens  taught  her,  as  he  has  taught  every  English 
novelist  since  his  time,  the  art  of  minute  observation. 
Moreover,  when  describing  the  death  of  Milly  Barton, 
she  cadenced  her  sentences  in  the  very  Little  Nell  man- 
ner." Cross. 

"Another  result  of  George  Eliot's  imagination  is  the 
dramatic  quality  of  her  pathos  and  humor."  Cross. 

"  George  Eliot  comes  quickly  to  an  incident  which  dis- 
covers somewhat  the  moral  quality  of  her  character ;  and 
then  she  proceeds  somewhat  slowly  with  their  self-revela- 
tion." Cross. 


40  Eliot's  "Silas  Marner" 

"  Character,  in  her  view,  is  not  fixed ;  it  is  an  evolu- 
tion. We  have,  as  it  were,  two  selves.  Which  self  shall 
be  triumphant  rests  with  ourselves.  By  our  deeds  we  are 
saved  or  lost ;  by  them  we  create  in  our  hearts  an  inferno 
or  a  paradise."  Cross. 

Remarks  ' 

"  The  lesson  is  that  when  men's  hearts  have  been  hard- 
ened by  their  wrongs,  a  little  child  is  often  the  means  of 
leading  them  back  into  natural  human  relations. 

"  Judging  from  this  book  alone,  one  might  infer  that 
the  author  was  a  person  of  high  ideals,  earnest,  sympa- 
thetic, possessing  a  vivid  imagination,  a  keen  sense  of 
humor,  and  having  a  tendency  to  philosophize." 

Ifej/drick. 


A    BRIEF    OUTLINE    OF    GOLDSMITH'S 
"THE    VICAR   OTF    WAKEFIELD" 


Author 

Oliver  Goldsmith 

Born  i^iS       Died  1.1'] a^ 

Kind  of  Book,     Novel  of  Domestic  Life 

Scene.     England       Time^    Eighteenth  Century 

Whefi  Written.      1766 

Principal  Characters 


I. 

The  Vicar  and  his  Wife. 

4- 

Burchell    (Sir    William 

2. 

Olivia  and  Sophia 

Thornhill). 

(daughters). 

5- 

George  Primrose  and  — 

3- 

Squire  Thornhill. 

6. 

Miss   Arabella    Wilmot, 
his  sweetheart. 

Subordinate  Characters 

I. 

Moses,     son     of     the 

4- 

The  Flamboroughs. 

Vicar. 

5- 

The     "Ladies"-    from 

2. 

Jenkinson,  the  trickster. 

London. 

3- 

Timothy    Baxter     (an- 

6. 

Young  Farmer  Williams 

other  cheat). 

(lover  of  Olivia). 

41 


42      Goldsmith's  "  The  Vicar  of  Wakefield" 


PLOT 

Preliminary  Events  — 

1 .  The  Vicar,  his  wife,  and 

family  described. 

2.  George   and    Arabella 

betrothed.     Losses. 

3.  The    migration.     Bur-      12. 

chell  rescues  Sophia 
from  drowning.  13. 

4.  Life  in  the  new  home. 

5.  Squire    Thornhill    ap- 

pears. 

6.  Sends   venison.     Bur-      14. 

chell  and  Sophia. 

7.  Thornhill's  visit.     His 

attentions  to  Olivia. 

8.  Burchell.     The  ballad. 

The  interruption. 

9.  The    moonlight    ball.      15. 

The     London    "  la- 
dies." 

10.  The  fortune  teller.  Ex- 

alted  hopes.     Ride 

to  church.  16. 

11.  Michaelmas  games  at 


Complication 

Flamboroughs'.  The 
"  ladies."  Burchell. 
Fudge.  Compan- 
ions wanted. 

Moses  sells  the  colt. 
Green  spectacles. 

Story  of  the  Dwarf  and 
the  Giant.  Bur- 
chell's  disagreeable 
advice. 

The  Vicar  takes  the 
horse  to  the  fair. 
Returns  with  worth- 
less draft.  The  girls 
rejected.  "Some en- 
emy hath  done  this." 

Burchell's  letter  found. 
The  "  enemy  "  ex- 
posed. Burchell 
returns.  His  recep- 
tion. 

Farmer  Wilhams  set  up 
as  a  rival  to  the  Squire. 


Climax 

17.    Olivia  elopes  with  the  Squire. 


Goldsmith's  "The  Vicar  of  Wakefield"      43 


Concluding  Events  — 

18.  The  Vicar  seeks  Olivia.      28. 

Deceived  by  Squire. 

19.  The  masquerading  but- 

ler.     Real   master.  . 
Arabella.    The  play. 
George. 

20.  George's   story  of  his 

wanderings.  29. 

21.  Thornhill  appears.      30. 

Courts  Arabella. 
Gets  George  a  com- 
mission. 

22.  The  homeward  journey.      31. 

The  inn.     Olivia. 

23.  At  home.     The  house 

in  flames.  The 
rescue.  Olivia  at 
home.  Thornhill 
and  Arabella. 

24.  Thornhill    returns. 

Scorned.  His  re- 
venge. The  Vicar 
goes  to  prison. 

25.  Prison.    Jenkinson. 

His  civility. 

26.  27.  The  Vicar's  attempts 

to  reform  prisoners. 


Resolution 

Application  to  Sir  W.T. 
Olivia  reported  dead. 
Sophia  abducted. 
George  challenges 
the  Squire.  Arrested 
and  brought  to 
prison. 

The  Vicar  preaches. 

Burchell  rescues  So- 
phia. George  rec- 
ognizes him  as  Sir 
William  Thornton.  • 

Uncle  and  nephew. 
Squire's  adroit  de- 
fense. Baxter  ap- 
pears.  Squire's 
defense  broken.  Ar- 
abella appears.  Ara- 
bella and  George. 
Squire  claims  dower. 
Olivia  appears.  Le- 
gal proofs  of  mar- 
riage. Sir  William 
proposes  for  Sophia. 
Marriage  bells. 
Happy  ever  after. 


44      Goldsmith's  "  The  Vicar  of  Wakefield" 

Quotations 

"  The  hours  we  pass  with  happy  prospects  in  view  are 
more  pleasing  than  those  crowned  with  fruition.  In  the 
first  case,  we  cook  the  dish  to  our  own  appetite ;  in  the 
latter,  Nature  cooks  it  for  us." 

"I  found  that  monarchy  was  the  best  government  for 
the  poor  to  live  under,  and  commonwealths  for  the  rich. 
I  found  that  riches  in  general  were  in  every  country  an- 
other name  for  freedom ;  and  that  no  man  is  so  fond  of 
liberty  himself  as  not  to  be  desirous  of  subjecting  the  will 
of  some  individuals  in  society  to  his  own." 

"  These  people,  however  fallen,  are  still  men,  and  that 
is  a  very  good  title  to  my  affections.  Good  counsel  re- 
jected returns  to  enrich  the  giver's  bosom ;  and  though 
the  instruction  I  communicate  may  not  mend  them,  yet 
it  will  assuredly  mend  myself." 

Style 

(Its  one  fault  is  that)  "the  plot  is  loosely  constructed  and 
hastily  huddled  up  at  the  end.  Remarkable  for  its  single 
characters  ...  for  its  incidents  of  pathos  and  humor." 

Raleigh. 

"  A  snowdrop  springing  from  this  muck  (of  eighteenth 
century  novels)."  Sidney  Lanier. 

"  The  Vicar  mingles  such  a  modern  sweetness  and  ten- 
derness, such  grace  of  portraiture,  and  above  all  such 
inimitable  humor.  ...  It  is  more  like  an  extended 
episode,  in  the  Spectator  manner,  than  a  story.  .  .  .     He 


Goldsmith's  "  The  Vicar  of  Wakefield"      45 

was  not  very  successful  in  making  these  people  move  in 
concerted  action,  ...  we  smile  indulgently  because  we 
see  that  they  are  puppets."  Gosse. 

"  With  adults  it  is  almost  safe  to  say  that  enjoyment  of  this 
classic  is  a  test  of  a  cultivated  mind,  but  it  is  by  no  means 
so  sure  to  please  boys  and  girls.  ...  Its  theme,  similar 
to  the  book  of  Job,  is  clear  enough  and  interesting  enough 
but  so  badly  developed,  so  full  of  improbabilities  and  cheap 
devices  of  plot  that  it  wins  scant  respect  from  young  readers. 
.  .  .  The  book  is  not  to  be  read  for  its  plot,  but  for  its 
reflection  of  the  man  Goldsmith,  for  its  quiet,  mellow 
humor,  its  portrayal  of  simple  domestic  virtues,  and  its 
subtle  shadings  of  characters."  G.  R.  Carpenter. 

Think  of  Goldsmith  as  being  reckless,  thriftless,  vain  if 
you  like  —  but  merciful,  gentle,  generous,  full  of  love  and 
pity.  He  passes  out  of  our  life  and  goes  to  render  his  ac- 
count beyond  it.  Think  of  the  poor  pensioners  weeping 
at  his  grave  ;  think  of  the  noble  spirits  that  admired  and 
deplored  him ;  think  of  the  righteous'  pen  that  wrote  his 
epitaph  —  and  the  wonderful  and  unanimous  response  of 
affection  with  which  the  world  has  paid  the  love  he  gave 
it.  His  humor  delighting  us  still;  his  song  fresh  and 
beautiful  as  when  he  first  charmed  with  it ;  his  words  in 
all  our  mouths ;  his  very  weaknesses  beloved  and  familiar 
—  his  benevolent  spirit  seems  still  to  smile  upon  us ;  to 
do  gentle  kindnesses ;  to  succor  with  sweet  charity ;  to 
caress,  to  soothe,  and  forgive  ;  to  plead  with  the  fortunate 
for  the  unhappy  and  the  poor.  Thackeray. 


A   BRIEF  OUTLINE    OF   LONDON'S 
"THE  CALL   OF  THE   WILD" 

Author 

Jack  London  (Contemporary) 

Born  1876       Living  (1905) 

Kind  of  Book.     Animal  Romance 

Scene o   California  —  Seattle  —  Alaska  —  Klondike 

Time.     1897       When  Written.     1903 

Principal  Characters 

1.  Buck,  a    St.    Bernard-      4,   The  Man  with  a  Club  — 

shepherd  dog.  Spitz,  a  dog. 

2.  John  Thornton,  5.    "  Black  "  Burton. 

3.  Perrault  and  Frangois.        6.   Hal,  Charles,  Mercedes. 

Subordinate  Characters 

1.  Manuel,  the  dog  stealer.      4.    Matthewson   (who    lost 

2.  Dave,   Curly,    Sol-leks,  his  $1000). 

Billee,  Joe  (dogs).  5.   Pete  and  Hans  (Thorn- 

3.  Skeet  and  Nig,  Thorn-  ton's  partners). 

ton's  dogs.  6.   The  Yeehats. 

46 


London  s  "  The  Call  of  the  Wild"  47 

PLOT 

Complication 
I.     INTO   THE   FRIMITIVE 

Buck.  His  life  at  Judge  Miller's.  Stolen  by  Manuel. 
Taken  to  San  Francisco.  Shipped  to  Seattle.  The  man 
with  a  club.  Bought  by  Perrault.  Shipped  to  Dyea. 
Snow. 

II.  THE  LAW  OF  CLUB  AND  FANG 

Death  of  Curly.  "  Once  down  that  was  the  end  of 
you."  The  first  night.  Buck  learns.  On  the  trail.  Buck 
steals  bacon.  "  Fit  to  survive."  "  Instincts  long  dead 
became  alive  again." 

III.    THE   DOMINANT   PRIMORDIAL   BEAST 

Spitz  steals  Buck's  nest.  The  fight.  The  raid  of  the 
Huskies.  Spitz's  treachery.  Bad  ice.  The  cliff  scaled. 
Buck's  feet  sore.  Moccasins.  The  mad  dog.  Again 
Spitz's  treachery.  The  contest  for  leadership.  Buck's 
strategy.  The  Night  Song.  The  return  trip.  The  fight 
to  the  finish. 

IV.     WHO   HAS   WON  THE   LEADERSHIP 

Buck  refuses  a  second  place.  Perrault  forced  to  yield. 
Buck's  skill  as  leader.  A  new  master.  Visions  of  pri- 
meval days.  Dave  (a  dog)  ill.  The  pride  of  the  trail, 
A  revolver  shot. 


48  London's  "  The  Call  of  the  Wild" 

V.     THE  TOIL  OF  TRACE   AND  TRAIL 

Five  months.  Twenty-five  hundred  miles.  Played 
out.  The  new  masters.  Hal  and  Charles.  Mercedes. 
The  ill-packed,  overloaded  sleigh.  "The  inexorable  elimi- 
nation of  the  superfluous."  Fourteen  dogs.  "  So  many 
dogs,  so  many  days."  The  harsh  reality  of  Arctic  travel. 
Human  quarrels.  Short  of  food.  Mercedes  rides.  Team 
demoralized.     John  Thornton's  camp. 

Climax 

John  Thornton  rescues  Buck. 

"  If  you  strike  that  dog  again,  I'll  kill  you." 

Resolution 

VI.     FOR   THE   LOVE   OF   A   MAN 

Skeet,  the  doctor  dog.  Convalescence.  The  ecstasy 
of  love.  "Deep  in  the  forest  a  call  was  sounding." 
"Jump,  Buck!"  "It's  uncanny."  Buck  downs  "Black" 
Burton.  Buck  saves  Thornton's  life  in  the  Rapids.  Buck 
pulls  one  thousand  pounds  and  wins  $1600. 

VII.    THE   SOUNDING   OF  THE   CALL 

Now  for  Lost  Cabin  Mine  !  Placer  gold.  The  lone 
wolf.  The  call  grows  louder.  The*  bear.  The  bull 
moose.  Thornton  dead.  Buck  attacks  the  Yeehats. 
"The  last  tie  was  broken."  The  wolves.  The  fight. 
Peace.     The  Ghost  Dog. 


London's  "  The  Call  of  the  Wild"  49 

Quotations 

"  He  was  older  than  the  days  he  had  seen  and  the 
breaths  he  had  drawn.  .  .  .  Behind  him  were  the  shades 
of  all  manner  of  dogs,  half-wolves,  and  wild  wolves,  .  .  . 
telling  him  the  sounds  made  by  the  wild  life  in  the  forest, 
dictating  his  moods,  directing  his  Actions,  .  .  .  dreaming 
with  him  and  beyond  him,  and  becoming  themselves  the 
stuff  of  his  dreams.  .  .  .  Deep  in  the  forest  a  call  was 
sounding,  and  as  often  as  he  heard  this  call,  mysteriously 
thrilling  and  luring,  he  felt  compelled  to  turn  his  back 
upon  the  fire  and  the  beaten  earth  around  it,  and  to 
plunge  into  the  forest,  and  on  and  on,  he  knew  not  where 
or  why." 

(This,  the  power  of  heredity,  is  the  central  theme  of  this  book.) 

Style 

This  work  exhibits  to  a  good  degree  unity  and  cohe- 
rence. Its  most  prominent  qualities  are  clearness  and 
force.  The  author  knows  how  to  tell  his  story  and  he 
tells  it  cleady.  Whatever  of  explanation  is  needed  to 
impress  the  reader  with  the  author's  point  of  view  is  told, 
almost  altogether,  as  a  part  of  the  experiences  or  actions 
of  the  hero.  The  author  does  not  stop  the  current  of 
the  story,  as  many  authors  do,  to  explain  or  moralize  in 
his  own  person,  yet  the  purpose  or  moral  of  the  story  is 
powerfully  impressed  upon  the  reader. 

Except  in  the  use  of  the  dialect  of  the  region,  there 
is  nothing  peculiar  in  the  author's  use  of  words. 


50  London's  "  The  Call  of  the  Wild" 

The  sentences  are  markedly  short,  seldom  reaching 
the  average  number  of  words  found  in  the  sentences  of 
good  modern  writers,  and  almost  never  going  beyond. 
His  average  would  probably  be  from  fifteen  to  eighteen 
words,  or  even  less. 

The  paragraphs  are  short  also. 

In  general  the  style  is  not  markedly  individual  unless 
in  the  shortness  of  sentences,  which  gives  to  it  an  abrupt 
and  colloquial  character. 


A  BRIEF   OUTLINE    OF    IRVING'S    "  RIP 
VAN    WINKLE" 

Author 

Washington  Irving 

Born  i^jSt,       Died  x^^() 

Classification.    Romantic  Short  Story  (based  on  folk  tale) 

Scene.   The  Catskills         Time.    1770  (?)-i 790  (?) 

When  Written.    18 19 

Principal  Characters 

1.  Rip  Van  Winkle. 

2.  Dame  Van  Winkle,  his  scolding  wife. 

3.  The  Goblins.     Hendrick  Hudson  and  his  crew. 

4.  Wolf,  Rip's  dog. 

Subordinate  Characters 

1.  Nicholas  Vedder,  the  tavern  keeper. 

2.  Derrick  Van  Bummel,  the  village  schoolmaster. 

3.  Judith  and  young  Rip,  old  Rip's  children. 

4.  Peter  Onderdonk,  the  oldest  inhabitant. 

5.  Mr.  Doohttle,  keeper  of  the  new  tavern. 

6.  The  children,  who  all  liked  Rip. 

51 


52  Irving' s  "Rip  Van  Winkle" 

PLOT 
Events  leading  up  to  the  Climax 

At  the  foot  of  the  Catskills,  in  a  little  Dutch  village  on 
the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  there  dwelt,  while  King  George 
IJI.  yet  ruled  the  colonies,  a  simple,  good-natured  fellow 
of  the  name  of  Rip  Van  Winkle. 

Rip  was  a  great  favorite  with  all  the  good  people  of 
the-  village  except  his  own  wife,  who  was  an  inveterate 
scold.  And  good  reason  she  had  to  scold,  for  Rip  was 
always  ready  to  attend  to  anybody  else's  business,  while 
his  own  farm  was  neglected  and  his  children  went  ragged 
and  barefooted. 

To  escape  his  wife's  tongue.  Rip  resorted  to  the  village 
tavern,  where  he  would  sit  the  livelong  day  and  far  into 
the  night  with  his  cronies,  smoking,  drinking,  and  telling 
endless,  sleepy  stories  about  nothing. 

From  this  refuge.  Rip  was  at  last  routed  by  his  wife, 
who  took  to  following  him  thither  and  deafening  him  and 
his  cronies  with  her  clattering  tongue. 

Rip  now  betook  himself  to  his  last  resources  —  his  gun 
and  his  dog  Wolf,  who  was  as  glad  to  get  away  from  Dame 
Van  Winkle  as  his  master,  for  she  was  as  handy  with 
broomstick  and  ladle  as  with  her  tongue. 

One  fine  autumnal  day,  Rip  went  hunting  in  the  moun- 
tains. In  the  afternoon,  panting  and  tired  from  a  long 
climb,  he  was  seated  on  the  brow  of  a  precipice  overlook- 
ing the  village,  when  he  suddenly  heard  his  name  called. 


Irving* s  "Rip  yan  IVinkle"  53 

Looking  down  into  the  glen  below  him,  he  saw  a  strange, 
dwarfish  figure,  clothed  in  the  antique  Dutch  fashion, 
toiUng  up  the  steep  ascent  with  a  stout  keg  on  his 
shoulders. 

As  the  stranger  approached,  he  made  signs  for  Rip  to 
assist  him  with  his  load.  Though  somewhat  afraid,  Rip, 
with  his  usual  good  nature,  complied.  As  they  clambered 
upward,  strange  rolling  peals  like  distant  thunder  issued 
out  of  a  deep  cleft  in  the  rocks  above  them.  Though 
there  were  no  clouds  in  the  sky.  Rip  supposed  this  to 
be  the  muttering  of  a  distant  thunderstorm  among  the 
mountains.     He  was  soon  to  learn  otherwise. 

Passing  through  the  cleft.  Rip  found  himself  in  a  small 
amphitheater-Hke  hollow  over  which  tall  rocks  and  branch- 
ing trees  formed  a  roof-like  covering.  On  a  level  spot  in 
the  center  a  company  of  odd-looking  persons,  similar  to 
his  guide,  were  silently  playing  at  ninepins.  What  Rip 
had  thought  was  thunder  was  the  sound  of  the  balls 
rolling  swiftly  down  the  long  alley. 

They  were  a  fearsome  crew.  All  were  somewhat  like 
his  guide,  yet  different  in  some  particulars.  One  had  a 
broad  fece,  small  nose,  and  little  pig-like  eyes ;  another's 
face  seemed  all  nose,  and  as  Rip  observed  them,  each 
appeared  more  terrifying  than  the  other.  One  stout  old 
fellow  seemed  the  chief;  he  wore  a  laced  doublet,  broad 
belt  and  hanger,  high  crowned  hat  with  a  feather,  red 
stockings,  and  high-heeled  shoes  with  roses  in  them. 
And,  most  terrifying  of  all,  not  one  spoke  a  word. 


54  Irving' s  "Rip  l^an  IVinkle" 

As  Rip  and  his  guide  drew  near,  they  suddenly  de- 
sisted from  their  play  and  stared  at  him  with  such  un- 
earthly countenances  that  his  knees  smote  together  with 
fear.  His  companion  emptied  the  contents  of  the  keg 
into  large  flagons  and  silently  signed  Rip  to  wait  upon 
the  company.  He  obeyed  with  fear  and  trembling. 
They  quaffed  their  liquor  in  silence  and  resumed  their 
game. 

Climax 

Rip  was  naturally  a  thirsty  soul ;  so,  while  the  players 
were  intent  upon  their  game,  he  slyly  took  a  drink  of  the 
beverage.  One  drink  only  made  him  want  another.  As 
he  drank  again  and  again  a  stupor  seized  him,  and  he  fell 

into  a  deep  sleep. 

•  - 

Events  leading  to  the  Conclusion 

It  was  morning  when  Rip  awoke.  The  amphitheater 
and  the  strange  men  were  gone.  As  he  rose,  he  found 
himself  very  stiff  in  the  joints.  He  picked  up  his  gun ; 
the  stock  fell  to  pieces  in  his  hands.  He  called  Wolf, 
but  no  Wolf  appeared. 

With  fear  of  Dame  Van  Winkle  in  his  heart,  he  set  out 
for  home.  As  he  went  along,  everything  seemed  oddly 
changed.  The  houses  and  people  were  new  to  him.  He 
found  his  own  house  deserted  and  in  ruins.  The  old 
Dutch  inn  was  gone,  and  a  strange  building  stood  in  its 
place.     The  only  familiar  thing  that  greeted  his  bewil- 


Irving' s  "Rip  yan  Winkle"  55 

dered  eyes  was  the  sign.  It  bore  the  face  of  King 
George,  but  a  new  name — General  Washington  —  was 
painted  beneath. 

There  was  a  crowd  before  the  door, — all  strangers, — ■ 
and  talking  about  strange  matters  :  elections,  Congress, 
Bunker  Hill.  Being  asked  why  he  came  to  an  election 
with  a  gun  on  his  shoulder  and  a  crowd  at  his  heels,  he 
replied  that  he  was  a  peaceful  subject  of  King  George, 
and  meant  no  harm.  When  the  crowd  heard  this,  they 
yelled,  "  A  tory,  a  tory,"  and  wanted  to  mob  him. 

When  they  quieted  down,  poor  Rip  began  to  inquire 
for  his  old  friends.  All  were  gone.  Some,  he  was  told, 
had  been  dead  nigh  twenty  years.  In  despair,  he  asked 
if  no  one  knew  Rip  Van  Winkle.  "  Why,  yes,"  said  they, 
"  there  he  is  leaning  against  a  tree."  Rip  looked  and 
saw  his  very  image  as  he  had  been  when  he  went  to 
sleep.  Just  then  he  heard  a  young  woman  call  her  baby 
by  the  name  of  Rip.  He  looked  and  saw  that  she  re- 
sembled his  wife.  Upon  inquiry,  he  found  that  it  was  his 
little  daughter  unaccountably  grown  up  over  night,  as  he 
thought.  He  asked  after  her  mother,  and  was  told  that 
she  had  lately  died.  Rip  then  asked  if  she  remembered 
her  father.  "Yes,"  replied  she,  "but  he  went,  twenty 
years  ago,  into  the  mountains  and  never  returned."  Rip 
then  declared  himself  her  father,  and  to  confirm  his 
words,  an  old  woman  came  up  who  recognized  him. 

His  daughter,  being  married  to  a  kind-hearted  young 
man,  took  Rip  home  with  her,  where  he  passed  the  re- 


56  Irving' s  "Rip  Van  Winkle" 

mainder  of  his  life,  untroubled  by  the  scolding  tongue  of 
Dame  Van  Winkle.  It  took  him  some  time  to  realize 
that  he  had  slept  twenty  years,  but  after  a  time  he  took 
to  frequenting  the  new  tavern,  where  he  amused  every 
new  guest  by  recounting  his  story. 

As  to  the  people  of  the  village,  some  did  not  beheve 
his  tale,  but  thought  that  he  had  been  out  of  his  head 
and  wandered  about  all  the  twenty  long  years  which  he 
had  been  absent ;  others  accounted  for  his  long  nap  by 
saying  that  he  had  fallen  in  with  Hendrick  Hudson  and 
his  crew,  who  visited  that  region  every  twenty  years  and 
played  at  ninepins  in  the  mountains. 

Note.  —  The  object  in  this  condensation  of  Irving's  story  has  been 
to  give  a  pretty  full  and  clear  account  of  the  story,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  preserve  some  slight  portion  of  the  "  Irving  "  flavor.  This  has  made 
it  longer  than  many  of  the  other  outlines. 

It  is  hoped  that  it  will  be  useful  to  the  teacher  in  testing  the  grasp  of 
the  pupils  on  the  vi'hole  story  and  render  easier  the  examination  of  the 
written  outlines  which  should  be  required  of  them.  It  is  a  good  plan  to 
ask  them  to  tell  the  story  in  one  exercise  up  to  the  climax,  and  then 
finish  it  in  another  period.  They  will,  of  course,  condense  it  more  than 
is  done  here. 

Quotations 

"  As  he  was  about  to  descend  he  heard  a  voice  from  a 
distance  hallooing, '  Rip  Van  Winkle  !  Rip  Van  Winkle  ! ' 
He  looked  around,  but  could  see  nothing  but  a  crow 
winging  its  solitary  flight  across  the  mountain.  He 
thought  his  fancy  must  have  deceived  him,  and  turned 
again   to   descend,  when    he   heard   the   same   cry  ring 


Irving' s  "Rip  Van  Winkle'*  57 

through  the  still  evening  air,  '  Rip  Van  Winkle  !  Rip 
Van  Winkle  ! '  At  the  same  time  Wolf  bristled  up  his 
back,  and,  giving  a  low  growl,  skulked  to  his  master's 
side,  looking  fearfully  down  into  the  glen.  Rip  now  felt 
a  vague  apprehension  stealing  over  him  ;  he  looked  anx- 
iously in  the  same  direction,  and  perceived  a  strange 
figure  slowly  toiling  up  the  rocks,  and  bending  under  the 
weight  of  something  he  carried  on  his  back.  He  was 
surprised  to  see  any  human  being  in  this  lonely  and  un- 
frequented place,  but  supposing  it  to  be  some  one  of  the 
neighborhood  in  need  of  assistance,  he  hastened  down  to 
yield  it. 

"  On  nearer  approach  he  was  still  more  surprised  at 
the  singularity  of  the  stranger's  appearance.  He  was  a 
short,  square-built  old  fellow,  with  thick,  bushy  hair  and  a 
grizzled  beard.  His  dress  was  of  the  antique  Dutch 
fashion  —  a  cloth  jerkin  strapped  round  the  waist,  several 
pair  of  breeches,  the  outer  one  of  ample  volume,  deco- 
rated with  rows  of  buttons  down  the  sides,  and  bunches 
at  the  knees.  He  bore  on  his  shoulders  a  stout  keg  that 
seemed  full  of  liquor,  and  made  signs  for  Rip  to  approach 
and  assist  him  with  the  load.  Though  rather  shy  and 
distrustful  of  this  new  acquaintance,  Rip  complied  with 
his  usual  alacrity,  and,  mutually  relieving  each  other,  they 
clambered  up  a  narrow  guUey,  apparently  the  dry  bed  of 
a  mountain  torrent.  As  they  ascended.  Rip  every  now 
and  then  heard  long  rolling  peals  like  distant  thunder, 
that  seemed  to  issue  out  of  a  deep  ravine  or  rather  cleft 


58  Irving' s  "Rip  Van  Winkle" 

between  lofty  rocks,  toward  which  their  rugged  path  con- 
ducted. He  paused  for  an  instant,  but  supposing  it  to 
be  the  muttering  of  one  of  those  transient  thunder-showers 
which  often  take  place  in  mountain  heights,  he  proceeded. 
Passing  through  the  ravine,  they  came  to  a  hollow,  like  a 
small  amphitheater,  surrounded  by  perpendicular  preci- 
pices, over  the  brinks  of  which  impending  trees  shot  their 
branches,  so  that  you  only  caught  glimpses  of  the  azure 
sky  and  the  bright  evening  cloud.  During  the  whole  time 
Rip  and  his  companion  had  labored  on  in  silence ;  for, 
though  the  former  marveled  greatly  what  could  be  the 
object  of  carrying  a  keg  of  liquor  up  this  wild  mountain, 
yet  there  was  something  strange  and  incomprehensible 
about  the  unknown  that  inspired  awe  and  checked  famil- 
iarity. 

"  On  entering  the  amphitheater,  new  objects  of  wonder 
presented  themselves.  On  a  level  spot  in  the  center  was 
a  company  of  odd-looking  personages  playing  at  nine- 
pins. They  were  dressed  in  a  quaint,  outlandish  fashion  ; 
some  wore  short  doublets,  others  jerkins,  with  long  knives 
in  their  belts,  and  most  of  them  had  enormous  breeches 
of  similar  style  with  that  of  the  guide's.  Their  visages, 
too,  were  peculiar.  One  had  a  large  head,  broad  face, 
and  small,  piggish  eyes  ;  the  face  of  another  seemed  to 
consist  entirely  of  nose,  and  was  surmounted  by  a  white, 
sugar-loaf  hat,  set  off  with  a  little  red  cock's  tail.  They 
all  had  beards  of  various  shapes  and  colors.  There  was 
one  who  seemed  to  be  the  commander.     He  was  a  stout 


Irving' s  "Rip  Fan  Winkle"  59 

old  gentleman,  with  a  weather-beaten  countenance ;  he 
wore  a  laced  doublet,  broad  belt  and  hanger,  high-crowned 
hat  and  feather,  red  stockings,  and  high-heeled  shoes  with 
roses  in  them.  The  whole  group  reminded  Rip  of  the 
figures  in  an  old  Flemish  painting  in  the  parlor  of  Dominie 
Van  Schaick,  the  village  parson,  and  which  had  been 
brought  over  from  Holland  at  the  time  of  the  settlement. 
"  What  seemed  particularly  odd  to  Rip  was  that,  though 
these  folks  were  evidently  amusing  themselves,  yet  they 
maintained  the  gravest  faces,  the  most  mysterious  silence, 
and  were,  withal,  the  most  melancholy  party  of  pleasure 
he  had  ever  witnessed.  Nothing  interrupted  the  stillness 
of  the  scene  but  the  noise  of  the  balls,  which,  whenever 
they  were  rolled,  echoed  along  the  mountains  like  rum- 
bling peals  of  thunder." 

Style 

"  In  the  '  Sketch-Book '  Irving  showed  himself  to  be 
an  accomplished  traveler,  critic,  satirist,  humorist,  and 
short-story  writer.  In  the  last-named  capacity  he  was  a 
pioneer  who,  when  at  his  best,  as  in  '  Rip  Van  Winkle,' 
*  The  Spectre  Bridegroom,'  and  '  The  Legend  of  Sleepy 
Hollow,'  has  not  been  clearly  surpassed  by  his  successors, 
Poe  and  Hawthorne,  or  by  any  British  writer."  iVent. 

"  He  easily  surpassed  Charles  Lamb  in  evenness  of 
execution.  Behind  all  that  he  did  appeared  his  own 
serene,  happy,  and  well-balanced  character." 

C.  F.  Richardson. 


60  Irving's  "Rip  Fan  JVinkle" 

"  It  is  the  genial  coloring  of  his  humorous  conceptions, 
not  the  mechanism,  that  wins  our  interest.  He  often 
makes  us  smile,  but  seldom  elicits  a  broad  guffaw  —  for 
his  conceptions  are  charged  with  a  feeling  softened  by 
culture  and  tempered  by  geniality."  £>./.  Hill. 

"  In  our  lighter  literature  he  is  without  a  rival  as  an 
artist.  .  .  .     His  style  is  unrivaled  in  picturesque  effect." 

F.  H,  Underwood. 

"  The  scenes  and  characters  in  '  Rip  Van  Winkle  *  are 
so  harmonized  that  they  have  the  effect  of  a  picture,  in 
which  all  the  parts  combine  to  produce  one  charming 
whole."  E.  P.  Whipple. 

"  His  style  is  as  transparent  as  light,"  Bryant. 

"  What !    Irving  !    thrice  welcome,  warm  heart  and  fine 
brain  ! 
You  bring  back  the  happiest  spirit  from  Spain, 
And  the  gravest  sweet  humor  that  ever  was  there 
Since  Cervantes  met  death  in  his  gentle  despair. 
Nay,  don't  be  embarrass'd,  nor  look  so  beseeching, 
I  sha'n't  run  directly  against  my  own  preaching, 
And,  having  just  laugh'd  at  their  Raphaels  and  Dantes, 
Go  to  setting  you  up  beside  matchless  Cervantes : 
But  allow  me  to  speak  what  I  honestly  feel ;  — 
To  a  true  poet-heart  add  the  fun  of  Dick  Steele, 
Throw  in  all  of  Addison  minus  the  chill. 
With  the  whole  of  that  partnership's  stock  and  good-will. 
Mix  well,  and,  while  stirring,  hum  o'er,  as  a  spell, 


Irving' s  "Rip  Van  Winkle''  61 

The  '  fine  old  English  gentleman  ' ;  —  simmer  it  well ; 

Sweeten  just  to  your  own  private  liking,  then  strain, 

That  only  the  finest  and  clearest  remain  : 

Let  it  stand  out  of  doors  till  a  soul  it  receives 

From  the  warm  lazy  sun  loitering  down  through  green 

leaves ; 
And  you'll  find  a  choice  nature,  not  wholly  deserving 
A  name  either  English  or  Yankee — just  Irving." 

Lowell,  "A  Fable  for  Critics." 


NARRATIVE   POEMS 


A   BRIEF   OUTLINE  OF   SCOTT'S   "THE 
LADY    OF   THE    LAKE" 

Author 
Sir  Walter  Scott 
Born  iTTi         Died  1832 

Kind  of  Book.     Metrical  Romance 

Scene.   Scotland  —  Western  Highlands      Time.    1542 

When  Written.     18 10 

Principal  Characters 

1.  Ellen  Douglas,  The  Lady  of  the  Lake. 

2.  James    Fitz-James,    Knight    of    Snowdoun,    King 
James  V, 

3.  Roderick  Dhu,  Chief  of  Clan-Alpine,  lover  of  Ellen. 

4.  Malcolm  Graeme,  lover  of  Ellen. 

5.  Allan-bane,  harper  and  seer. 

6.  James  Douglas,  the  banished  father  of  Ellen. 

Subordinate  Characters 

1.  Brian,  the  seer  of  Clan-Alpine. 

2.  Malise,  the  messenger. 

3.  Red  Murdoch,  the  treacherous  guide. 

4.  Mad  Blanche  of  Devan. 

5.  Lady  Margaret,  aunt  of  Ellen. 

6.  John  De  Brent,  the  English  exile. 


2  Scott's  "  The  Lady  of  the  Lake  " 

PLOT 
Rising  Action  —  Complication 

Canto  I 

1.  The  chase. 

2.  The  night  on  Ellen's  isle. 

Canto  II 

3.  The  departure  of  Fitz-James. 

4.  Ellen  and  Allan-bane. 

5.  The  meeting  of  Roderick,  Malcolm,  and  Douglas 
on  the  island  —  The  quarrel. 

Canto  III 

6.  The  speeding  of  the  Cross  of  Fire. 

7.  The  gathering  of  Clan-Alpine  on  Lanrick  mead. 

Canto  IV 

8.  Brian's  prophecy. 

9.  Meeting  of  Ellen  and  Fitz-James  in  the  Goblin 
Cave  —  The  proposal  —  The  ring. 

10.    Mad    Blanche's   warning  —  The   slaying   of   Red 
Murdoch. 


Scott's  "  The  Lady  of  the  Lake"  3 

Climax  * 
iio  The  meeting  of  Fitz-James  and  Roderick  Dhu. 

Falling  Action  —  Resolution 
Canto  V 

12.  The  apparition  of  Clan- Alpine's  warriors  in  answer 
to  Roderick's  summons  —  Roderick  declares  himself. 

13.  The  fight. 

14.  Roderick,  wounded,  is  conveyed  to  Stirling. 

15.  Douglas  at  the  games  (Stirling). 

1 6.  The  king  sends  to  forbid  the  battle. 

Canto  VI 

17.  Ellen  and  Allan  at  Stirling  —  The  ring. 

18.  Allan  and  Roderick  —  Roderick's  death. 

19.  Ellen  and  Fitz-James. 

1  Opinions  may  differ  as  the  placing  of  the  climax  in  this  plot.  The 
writer's  reasons  for  locating  it  as  he  has  are  as  follows :  Fitz-James  is 
the  hero.  Up  to  the  meeting  with  Roderick  he  might  have  escaped; 
after  that,  escape  without  fighting  was  impossible  :  therefore  the  meeting 
is  the  turning  point,  —  the  point  to  which  everything  before  has  led,  — 
the  reason  for  which  the  author  made  him  return  to  find  Ellen.  From 
that  point  the  remainder  of  the  action  flows.  This  seems  sufficient 
reason  for  placing  it  at  the  meeting.  The  climax  is  not  always  the  most 
exciting  or  dramatic  scene  in  a  plot.  If  Fitz-James  is  the  hero,  the  fight 
is  rather  the  catastrophe  than  the  climax. 


Scott's  "  The  Lady  of  the  Lake" 

"  For  all  stood  bare  ;  and  in  the  room 
Fitz-James  alone  wore  cap  and  plume. 


The  center  of  a  glittering  ring,  — 

And  Snowdoun's  Knight  is  Scotland's  King  ! " 

20.  The  Douglas  pardoned. 

21.  The  doom  of  Malcolm. 


Quotations 

"  And  ne'er  did  Grecian  chisel  trace 
A  Nymph,  a  Naiad,  or  a  Grace, 
Of  finer  form  or  lovelier  face  !  * 

What  though  the  sun,  with  ardent  frown. 
Had  sHghtly  tinged  her  cheek  with  brown,  — 
The  sportive  toil,  which,  short,  and  light, 
Had  dyed  her  glowing  hue  so  bright, 
Served  too  in  hastier  swell  to  show 
Short  glimpses  of  a  breast  of  snow  : 
What  though  no  rule  of  courtly  grace 
To  measured  mood  had  trained  her  pace,  — 
A  foot  more  light,  a  step  more  true, 
Ne'er  from  the  heath-flower  dashed  the  dew  ; 
Ev'n  the  light  harebell  raised  its  head. 
Elastic  from  her  airy  tread  : 
What  though  upon  her  lips  there  hung 
The  accents  of  the  mountain  tongue,  — 


Scott's  "  The  Lady  of  the  Lake 

Those  silver  sounds,  so  soft,  so  dear, 
The  Hstener  held  his  breath  to  hear. 


Blushing  she  turned  her  from  the  king, 
And  to  the  Douglas  gave  the  ring, 
As  if  she  her  sire  to  speak 
The  suit  that  stained  her  glowing  cheek 
*  Nay,  then,  my  pledge  has  lost  its  force, 
And  stubborn  justice  holds  her  course. 
Malcolm,  come  forth  ! '  —  and,  at  the  word, 
Down  kneeled  the  Graeme  to  Scotland's  Lord. 
'  For  thee,  rash  youth,  no  suppliant  sues. 
For  thee  may  Vengeance  claim  her  dues. 
Who,  nurtured  underneath  our  smile. 
Hast  paid  our  care  by  treacherous  wile, 
And  sought  amid  thy  faithful  clan 
A  refuge  for  an  outlawed  man. 
Dishonoring  thus  thy  loyal  name,  — 
Fetters  and  warder  for  the  Graeme  ! ' 
His  chain  of  gold  the  king  unstrung. 
The  links  o'er  Malcolm's  neck  he  flung. 
Then  gently  drew  the  glittering  band, 
And  laid  the  clasp  on  Ellen's  hand." 

Style 

"  Yet  it  seems  to  me  impossible,  on  any  just  theory  of 
poetry  or  of  literature,  to  rank  him  low  as  a  poet.  .  .  . 


6  Scott's  "  The  Lady  of  the  Lake" 

In  Scott  the  story  interests.  ...  He  can  produce  .  .  . 
some  of  the  very  few  long  narrative  poems  which  deserve 
to  honestly  enthrall  and  fix  popular  taste. 

"The  most  really  damaging  things  to  be  said  against 
Scott  are  two.  First,  that  his  genius  did  not  incline  him 
either  to  the  expression  of  the  highest  passion  or  to  that  of 
the  deepest  meditation,  in  which  directions  the  utterances 
of  the  very  greatest  poetry  are  wont  to  lie.  In  the  second 
place,  that  the  extreme  fertility  and  fluency  which  cannot 
be  said  to  have  improved  even  his  prose  work  are,  from 
the  nature  of  the  case,  far  more  evident,  and  far  more 
damagingly  evident,  in  his  verse. 

"  He  is  a  poet  of  description,  of  action,  of  narration, 
rather  than  of  intense  feeling  or  thought.  Yet  in  his  own 
special  divisions  of  the  simpler  lyric  and  of  lyrical  narra- 
tive he  sometimes  attains  the  exquisite,  and  rarely  sinks 
below  a  quality  which  is  fitted  to  give  poetical  delight  to  a 
very  large  number  of  by  no  means  contemptible  persons. 

"  It  appears  to  me  at  least,  that  on  no  sound  theory  of 
poetical  criticism  can  Scott  be  ranked  as  a  poet  below 
Byron,  who  was  his  imitator  in  narrative  and  his  inferior 
in  lyric."  Saintsbury. 


A    BRIEF    OUTLINE    OF    COLERIDGE'S 
"THE      RIME      OF     THE      ANCIENT 

MARINER" 

Author 

Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge 
Born   IJT2         Died  1832 

Kind  of  Book.     Narrative  Poem  —  Ballad  —  Lyric 

Scetie.     The  Ocean  —  Atlantic  —  Antarctic  —  Pacific 

Time.     The  Middle  Ages 

When  Written.     1798   (Published) 

Principal  Characters 

1.  The  Ancient  Mariner. 

2.  The  Albatross. 

3.  Death  and  Life-in-Death. 

4.  The  Spirit  of  the  Pole. 

Subordinate  Characters 

1.  The  Wedding  Guest. 

2.  Various  Demons  and  Spirits. 

3.  The  Hermit  of  the  Wood. 

4.  Thp  Pilot. 

5.  The  Pilot's  Boy  (who  goes  crazy). 

7 


8     Coleridge's  "The  Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner'' 

PLOT 

Preliminary  Events  —  Complication 

INTRODUCTION 

The  Ancient  Mariner  stoppeth  the  Wedding  Guest  and 
ccMistraineth  him  to  hear  his  tale. 

THE  TALE 

1.  The  ship  saileth  southward  to  the  hne  with  a  good 
wind. 

2.  Thence  it  is  driven  to  the  desolate  Polar  regions. 

3.  The  Albatross  appeareth  and   proveth  a  bird  of 
good  omen  ;  it  followeth  the  ship. 

4.  The  Ancient  Mariner  slayeth  the  Albatross. 

5.  His  shipmates  cry  out  against  the  deed,  but  when 
the  fog  cleareth  away  they  approve  it. 

6.  The  ship  saileth  northward  into  the  Pacific  even 
unto  the  line,  where  it  lieth  becalmed. 

7.  Water    faileth ;     the    expiation    beginneth ;    the 
offended  Polar  Spirit  hath  followed  the  ship. 

8.  His  shipmates  again  cry  out  against  him  and  hang 
the  dead  Albatross  about  his  neck. 

9.  The  Phantom  ship  appeareth,  manned  by  Death 
and  Life-in- Death. 

10.  They  cast  dice  for  the  crew  and  Life-in-Death 
winneth  the  Mariner. 

11.  All  his  mates  die;    Life-in-Death   beginneth   her 
work  on  him. 

12.  (The  Guest  feareth  that  a  Spirit  talketh  to  him.) 


Coleridge's  "  The  Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner  "     9 

13.  The  Mariner  despiseth  and  envieth  the  creatures 
of  the  deep ;  he  trieth  to  pray  but  cannot. 

14.  The  curse  still  liveth  for  him  in  the  eyes  of  the 
dead  men. 

15.  He  yearneth  towards  the  journeyings  of  the  moon 
and  stars. 

16.  The  moon  riseth,  and  he  beholdeth  God's  creatures 
—  their  beauty  and  happiness. 

Climax 
Moved  by  their  beauty,  he  blesseth  them  unawares ;  he 
is  then  enabled  to  pray ;  the  Albatross  falleth  from  his 
neck  and  he  sleepeth. 

Concluding  Events  —  Resolution 

1.  By  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Mother,  the  Ancient 
Mariner  is  refreshed  with  rain. 

2.  He  heareth  a  roaring  wind;  but  it  cometh  not 
anear  the  ship. 

3.  The  dead  sailors  are  vivified  by  a  blessed  troop  of 
angelic  spirits ;  they  sail  the  ship. 

4.  The  Polar  Spirit  saileth  the  ship  to  the  line,  but 
still  requireth  vengeance. 

5.  The  Mariner's  trance;  the  spirits  talk  of  him; 
the  Polar  Spirit  departeth  satisfied. 

6.  The  supernatural  motion  is  abated ;  the  Mariner 
awaketh  ;  the  dead  men  stare  at  him  with  stony  eyes  ;  he 
is  not  able  to  turn  from  them. 

7.  A  breeze  springeth  up ;  the  curse  is  snapt ;  he 
beholdeth  his  native  land. 


10   Coleridge  s  "The  Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner  " 

8.  The  ship  entereth  the  harbor;    the  spirits  leave 
the  dead  bodies ;  they  fall. 

9.  The    Pilot,    the    Pilot's    Boy,    and    the    Hermit 
approach  the  ship  and  are  afeard. 

10.  The  ship  sinketh  ;  the  Mariner  is  saved  ;  he  speak- 
eth  ;  the  Pilot  falleth  in  a  fit  and  the  Pilot's  Boy  goeth  crazy. 

11.  The  Hermit  shrieveth  the  Mariner;  he  is  doomed 
to  wander  from  land  to  land. 

12.  He  telleth  the  moral  of  his  tale  and  departeth. 

Quotations 

"  Day  after  day,  day  after  day, 
We  stuck,  nor  breath  nor  motion ; 
As  idle  as  a  painted  ship 
Upon  a  painted  ocean." 

"  Alone,  alone,  all,  all  alone, 
Alone  on  a  wide,  wide  sea  ! 
And  never  a  samt  took  pity  on 
My  soul  in  agony." 

"  O  happy  living  things  !  no  tongue 

Their  beauty  might  declare  : 

A  spring  of  love  gushed  from  my  heart, 

And  I  bless'd  them  unaware." 
******* 
"  That  selfsame  moment  I  could  pray ; 

And  from  my  neck  so  free 


Coleridge's  "The  Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner"   11 

The  Albatross  fell  off,  and  sank 
Like  lead  into  the  sea." 

"  He  prayeth  well,  who  loveth  well 

Both  man  and  bird  and  beast." 
******* 
"  He  prayeth  best,  who  loveth  best 

All  things  both  great  and  small ; 

For  the  dear  God  who  loveth  us. 

He  made  and  loveth  all." 

Style 
"These  four  (' Kubla  Kahn,'  ' Christabel,'  'Love,' 
and  the  *  Ancient  Mariner  ')  are  sufficient  to  rank  their 
author  among  the  very  greatest  of  English  poets.  .  .  . 
In  the  '  Mariner '  comes  the  gorgeous  metre,  .  .  .  the 
more  gorgeous  imagery  and  pageantry  here,  the  simple 
directness  there,  the  tameless  range  of  imagination  and 
fancy,  the  fierce  rush  of  rhythm  :  — 

'The  fair  breeze  blew,  the  white  foam  flew. 

The  furrow  followed  free  : 

We  were  the  first  that  ever  burst 

Into  that  silent  sea.' 

"  In  verse  at  least  .  .  .  there  is  no  greater  master 
than  Coleridge."  Saintsbury. 

"  It  is  the  delicacy,  the  dreamy  grace,  in  his  presenta- 
tion of  the  marvellous,  which  makes  Coleridge's  work  so 
remarkable."  fVa/^er  Pater. 


A      BRIEF      OUTLINE      OF      LONGFEL- 
LOW'S "KING  ROBERT  OF  SICILY" 

Author 

Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow 

Born  1807         Died  1882 

Kind  of  Book.     Narrative  Poem 

Scene,   Sicily  —  Rome       Time.    Mediaeval  Ages 

When  Written.     1863-1873 

Principal  Characters 

1.  King  Robert. 

2.  The  Angel. 

Subordinate  Characters 

1.  Valmond,  Emperor  of  AUemaine.         3.    The  Clerk. 

2.  Pope  Urbane.  4.   The  Monks. 
(Brothers  to  King  Robert)  5.   The  Ape. 

PLOT 

Preliminary  Events  —  Complication 

1.  King  Robert's  boast. 

2.  His  sleep  and  his  awakening. 


Longfellow's  "  King  Robert  of  Sicily  "        13 

3.  He  finds  the  usurping  Angel  on  his  throne  and  de- 
nounces him — The  Angel's  reply. 

4.  The  King  turned  Jester  is  housed  with  an  ape. 

5.  The  Angel's  benign  reign. 

6.  The  King  continues  obdurate. 

7.  The  journey  to  Rome. 

8.  Robert's  appeal  to  his  brothers. 

9.  The  return  to  Sicily. 

Climax 

King  Robert's  change  of  heart. 

"  Thou  knowest  best ! 
My  sins  as  scarlet  are ;  let  me  go  hence, 
And  in  some  cloister's  school  of  penitence, 
Across  those  stones,  that  pave  the  way  to  heaven, 
Walk  barefoot,  till  my  guilty  soul  be  shriven  !  " 

Concluding  Events  —  Resolution 

1.  The  Angel  departs  and  King  Robert  awakes. 

2.  The  courtiers  find  him  "  absorbed  in  silent  prayer." 

Quotations 

"  He  caught  the  words,  '  Deposuit  potentes 
De  sede,  et  exaltavit  humiles  ; ' 
And  slowly  lifting  up  his  kingly  head 
He  to  the  learned  clerk  beside  him  said, 


14       Longfellow s  "King  Robert  of  Sicily" 

*  What  mean  these  words  ? "   The  clerk  made  answer 

meet, 
'  He  has  put  down  the  mighty  from  their  seat, 
And  has  exalted  them  of  low  degree.' 
Thereat  King  Robert  muttered  scornfully, 

*  'Tis  well  that  such  seditious  words  are  sung 
Only  by  priests  and  in  the  Latin  tongue ; 
For  unto  priests  and  people  be  it  known 

There  is  no  power  can  push  me  from  my  throne.'  * 

The  Angel  smiled,  and  from  his  radiant  face 

A  holy  light  illumined  all  the  place. 

And  through  the  open  window,  loud  and  clear, 

They  heard  the  monks  chant  in  the  chapel  near, 

Above  the  stir  and  tumult  of  the  street : 

*  He  has  put  down  the  mighty  from  their  seat, 
And  has  exalted  them  of  low  degree  ! ' 

And  through  the  chant  a  second  melody 
Rose  like  the  throbbing  oi  a  single  string : 

*  I  am  an  Angel,  and  thou  art  the  King.' " 

Style 

"  Among  the  *  Tales '  (of  a  Wayside  Inn)  are  some  of 
Longfellow's  best  ballads  —  such  as  *  Paul  Revere's  Ride,' 
'  King  Robert  of  Sicily,'  and  '  Scanderberg.' 

"  Here  is  the  semblance  of  a  master  effort,  but  in  fact 
a  succession  of  minor  ones ;  we  perceive  that  no  great 
outlay  of  imaginative  force  was  required  for  this  kind  of 

*  This  —  the  king's  boast  —  is  the  exciting  cause. 


Longfellow's  "King  Robert  of  Sicily"        15 

work.  With  Longfellow's  lyrical  facility  of  putting  a  story 
into  rippling  verse,  almost  as  lightly  as  another  would  tell 
it  in  prose,  we  find  ourselves  assured  of  as  many  poems 
as  he  had  themes.  Less  subtile  and  refined  than  Morris, 
he  was  a  better  raconteur.  This  was  due  to  a  modern 
and  natural  style,  the  sweet  variety  of  his  measures,  and 
to  his  ease  in  dialogue.  He  intersperses  many  realistic 
passages,  and  by  other  ways  avoids  the  monotony  of  the 
'idle  singer  of  an  empty  day.'*  As  for  poetic  atmos- 
phere and  all  the  essentials  of  beauty  the  '  Tales '  cannot 
enter  into  comparison  with  *  The  Earthly  Paradise.' 
Longfellow's  frequent  gayety  and  constant  sense  of' the 
humanities  make  him  a  true  story-teller  for  the  multitude." 

Stedman. 

*  William  Morris,  in  his  poem  entitled  "The  Proud  King,"  has  treated 
the  same  theme.  The  student  may  be  interested  in  comparing  the  two 
poems.    "  The  Proud  King  "  is  found  in  "  The  Earthly  Paradise." 


A   BRIEF   OUTLINE   OF   ARNOLD'S 
"SOHRAB   AND    RUSTUM " 

Author 

Matthew  Arnold 

Born  1822         Vied  1S88 

Classification.     A  Narrative  Poem  (An  Epic  Fragment) 
Place.   The  Banks  of  the  Oxus  River 
*  Time.   The  Heroic  Age  of  Persia 

When  Written.    1853 

Principal  Characters 

1.  Sohrab  and 

2.  Rustum,  his  unknown  father. 

Subordinate  Characters 

1.  Peran  Wisa,  Tartar  general. 

2.  Ferood,  Persian  general. 

3.  Ruksh,  Rustum's  famous  horse. 


PLOT 
Complication 


The  story  of  Sohrab  and  Rustum  is  told  in  Sir  John 
Malcolm's  "  History  of  Persia,"  as  follows  :      The  young 

16 


Arnold's  "  Sohrab  and  Rustum"  \7 

Sohrab  was  the  fruit  of  one  of  Rustum 's  early  amours. 
He  had  left  his  mother,  and  sought  fame  under  the 
banners  of  Afrasiab,  whose  armies  he  commanded,  and 
soon  obtained  a  renown  beyond  that  of  all  contemporary 
heroes  but  his  father.  He  had  carried  death  and  dis- 
may into  the  ranks  of  the  Persians,  and  had  terrified  the 
boldest  warriors  of  that  country  before  Rustum  encoun- 
tered him,  which  at  last  that  hero  resolved  to  do  under 
a  feigned  name. 

Climax 

They  met  three  times.  The  first  time,  they  parted  by 
mutual  consent,  though  Sohrab  had  the  advantage ;  the 
second,  the  youth  obtained  a  victory,  but  granted  life  to 
his  unknown  father ;  the  third  was  fatal  to  Sohrab. 

Resolution 

Sohrab,  when  writhing  in  the  pangs  of  death,  warned  his 
conqueror  to  shun  the  vengeance  that  is  inspired  by 
parental  woes,  and  bade  him  dread  the  rage  of  the 
mighty  Rustum,  who  must  soon  learn  that  he  had  slain 
his  son  Sohrab.  These  words,  we  are  told,  were  as  death 
to  the  aged  hero ;  and  when  he  recovered  from  a  trance, 
he  called  in  despair  for  proofs  of  what  Sohrab  had  said. 
The  afflicted  and  dying  youth  tore  open  his  mail,  and 
showed  his  father  a  seal  which  his  mother  had  placed  on 
his  arm  when  she  discovered  to  him  the  secret  of  his 
birth,  and  bade  him  seek  his  father.     The  sight  of  his 


18  Arnold's  " Sohrab  and  Rustum" 

own  signet  rendered  Rustum  quite  frantic ;  he  cursed 
himself,  attempting  to  put  an  end  to  his  existence,  and 
was  only  prevented  by  the  efforts  of  his  expiring  son. 
After  Sohrab's  death,  he  burned  his  tents  and  all  his 
goods,  and  carried  the  corpse  to  Seistan,  where  it  was 
interred ;  the  army  of  Turan  was,  agreeably  to  the  last 
request  of  Sohrab,  permitted  to  cross  the  Oxus  unmolested. 
To  reconcile  us  to  the  improbability  of  this  tale,  we  are 
informed  that  Rustum  could  have  no  idea  his  son  was  in 
existence.  The  mother  of  Sohrab  had  written  to  him 
her  child  was  a  daughter,  fearing  to  lose  her  darling  infant 
if  she  revealed  the  truth  ;  and  Rustum,  as  before  stated, 
fought  under  a  feigned  name,  an  usage  not  uncommon  in 
the  chivalrous  combats  of  those  days. 

Quotations 

"And  though  thou  thinkest  that  thou  knowest  sure 
Thy  victory,  yet  thou  canst  not  surely  know. 
For  we  are  all,  like  swimmers  in  the  sea, 
Poised  on  the  top  of  a  huge  wave  of  fate. 
Which  hangs  uncertain  to  which  side  to  fall. 
And  whether  it  will  heave  us  up  to  land, 
Or  whether  it  will  roll  us  out  to  sea. 
Back  out  to  sea,  to  the  deep  waves  of  death. 
We  know  not,  and  no  search  will  make  us  know ; 
Only  the  event  will  teach  us  in  its  hour." 


Arnold's  " Sohrab  and  Rustum"  19 

"  And  I  will  lay  thee  in  that  lovely  earth, 
•  And  heap  a  stately  mound  above  thy  bones, 
And  plant  a  far^seen  pillar  over  all. 
And  men  shall  not  forget  thee  in  thy  grave. 
And  I  will  spare  thy  host ;  yea,  let  them  go  ! 
Let  them  all  cross  the  Oxus  back  in  peace  ! 
What  should  I  do  with  slaying  any  more? 
For  would  that  all  that  I  have  ever  slain 
Might  be  once  more  alive ;  my  bitterest  foes, 
And  they  who  were  call'd  champions  in  their  time, 
And  through  whose  death  I  won  that  fame  I  have, 
And  I  were  but  a  common  man, 
A  poor,  mean  soldier  and  without  renown, 
So  thou  mightest  live  too,  my  son,  my  son  ! " 

Style 

The  characteristics  of  this  poem  are  the  majestic  roll 
of  its  rhythm,  recalling  more  than  any  other  English  poem 
Homer's  resounding  lines,  the  grandeur  of  its  movement, 
the  graphic  power,  the  vigor  of  action,  the  strength  and 
sense  of  proportion  shown  in  its  general  treatment,  the 
constant  suggestion  of  reserve  power,  and  the  sincerity 
and  tranquillity  which  we  are  made  to  feel  in  every  line. 

"  But  when  (Arnold's  poetry)  is  at  its  best  it  has  a  won- 
derful charm  —  a  charm  nowhere  else  to  be  matched 
among  our  dead  poets  of  this  century."  Saintsbury. 


A  BRIEF  OUTLINE  OF  LONGFELLOW'S 
"EVANGELINE" 

Author 

Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow 

Born  1807       Died  1882 

Classification.     Narrative  Poem 

Scene.     Acadia  —  Nova  Scotia       Time.     1755 

When  Written.    1847 

Principal  Characters 

1.  Evangeline  Bellefontaine. 

2.  Gabriel  Lajeunesse. 

Subordinate  Characters 

1.  Benedict,  Evangeline's  father. 

2.  Basil,  Gabriel's  father. 

3.  Rene  Leblanc,  the  notary. 

4.  Father  Felician  and  the  Black  Robe  chief. 

5.  Michael,  the  fiddler. 

6.  The  British  soldiers. 


Longfellow's  "Evangeline"  21 

PLOT 

Complication 

In  the  autumn  of  1755,  a  British  fleet  sailed  into  the 
Basin  of  Minas  and  anchored  opposite  the  Acadian  village 
of  Grand  Pr6,  In  this  village  there  dwelt  a  beautiful 
maiden,  Evangeline  Bellefontaine  by  name,  and  her  lover, 
Gabriel  Lajeunesse.  Their  vows  were  already  plighted, 
and  the  day  set  for  the  formal  betrothal  was  at  hand. 

On  the  fourth  day  after  the  appearance  of  the  British 
fleet,  Gabriel  and  his  father,  Basil,  the  blacksmith,  met 
the  old  notary,  Rene  Leblanc,  at  the  home  of  Evangeline, 
and  the  betrothal  papers  were  duly  drawn  up  and 
signed. 

On  the  next  day  the  betrothal  feast  was  held  "  in  the 
odorous  air  of  the  orchard."  In  the  afternoon,  in  accord- 
ance with  an  order  of  the  commander  of  the  fleet,  the 
men  of  the  village  assembled  in  the  church  to  hear  what 
he  had  to  say  to  them.  To  their  anger  and  grief,  they 
were  told  that  their  lands  had  been  confiscated  on  account 
of  their  disloyalty  to  the  British  crown,  and  that  they  and 
their  families  were  to  be  carried  away  to  the  English 
colonies.  A  stormy  scene  followed,  which  was  calmed 
by  the  good  priest  of  the  village. 

On  the  fifth  day  thereafter  the  Acadian  men  were 
hurried  on  board  the  ships  and,  after  them,  the  women 
and  children.  In  the  hurry  and  confusion,  families  were 
separated,  some  members  being  carried  to  one  ship  and 


22  Longfellow's  "Evangeline" 

some  to  another.  Evangeline  had  only  time  for  a  passing 
word  with  Gabriel.  Her  father,  stricken  with  grief,  died 
upon  the  shore,  and  there  was  buried.  As  the  ships  sailed 
away,  the  Acadians  saw  the  smoke  rising  from  their 
burning  houses,  which  the  British  had  set  on  fire. 

The  exiles  were  landed  by  the  different  ships  at  dif- 
ferent places ;  some  at  Boston,  some  at  Philadelphia,  and 
some  at  other  cities  along  the  coast.  For  several  years, 
many  of  them  wandered  about,  seeking  their  families  and 
friends, 

Evangeline,  joined  by  the  good  priest,  Father  Felician, 
sought  in  vain  through  the  Eastern  colonies  for  Gabriel. 
At  last  she  heard  that  he  was  in  Louisiana,  whither  many 
other  Acadians  had  gone.  So  she  and  Father  Felician 
journeyed  to  the  Ohio  River  and  passed  thence  down  the 
Mississippi  to  Louisiana. 

Climax 

One  night,  as  they  neared  their  journey's  end,  they 
encamped  "  under  the  Wachita  willows  "  on  a  little  island 
in  the  lakes  of  Atchafalaya.  Here,  in  a  dream,  Evangeline 
saw  Gabriel. 

Resolution 

The  next  morning  they  arrived  at  the  home  of  Basil, 
only  to  find  that  Gabriel  had  really  passed  them  the  night 
before  on  his  way  to  the  Ozark  Mountains  to  spend  the 
winter  in  trapping. 

On  the  next  day  Basil  and  Evangeline  set  out  in  pur- 


Longfellow's  "Evangeline"  23 

suit  of  Gabriel.  Arriving  at  Adayes,  somewhere  probably 
in  the  present  state  of  Arkansas,  they  found  that  Gabriel 
had  left  the  day  before  for  the  Ozark  region.  Thither 
they  followed,  but  fate  everywhere  foiled  their  efforts. 
Naught  saw  they  of  Gabriel  save  the  cold  ashes  of  his 
deserted  campfires. 

Finally,  hearing  of  a  Mission,  they  went  thither,  only  to 
find  that  Gabriel  had  left  for  the  far  North,  intending 
to  return  in  the  spring.  Discouraged,  Evangeline  asked 
to  be  left  there  to  await  his  return. 

Autumn,  winter,  and  spring  passed,  but  Gabriel  came 
not.  In  the  summer,  a  rumor  said  that  Gabriel  was  hving 
in  Michigan.  Thither  Evangeline  followed,  only  to  find 
his  hunting  lodge  deserted  and  fallen  to  ruin. 

For  many  years  Evangeline  wandered  from  place  to 
place,  seeking  Gabriel,  but  scarcely  hoping  to  find  him. 
At  last,  in  Philadelphia,  while  nursing  the  sick  in  a  hospital, 
she  came  upon  an  old  gray-haired  man  in  the  last  agony 
of  death.  It  was  Gabriel.  Aroused  by  her  cry,  he  vainly 
endeavored  to  speak  to  her.  His  head  pillowed  upon  her 
breast,  he  breathed  his  last,  and  was  buried  in  a  Httle  Cath- 
olic churchyard,  where,  shortly  after,  Evangeline's  body 
was  laid  beside  him. 

Quotations 

"  Fair    was   she   to   behold,   that   maiden   of  seventeen 
summers ; 
Black  were  her*  eyes  as  the  berry  that  grows  on  the 
thorn  by  the  wayside, 


24  Longfellow's  "  Evangeline  " 

Black,  yet  how  softly  they  gleamed  beneath  the  brown 

shade  of  her  tresses  ! 
Sweet  was  her  breath  as  the  breath  of  kine  that  feed  on 

the  meadows." 


"But  a  celestial  brightness  —  a  more  ethereal  beauty  — 
Shone  on  her  face  and  encircled  her  form,  when,  after 

confession, 
Homeward  serenely  she  walked  with  God's  benediction 

upon  her. 
When  she  had  passed,  it  seemed  like  the  ceasing  of 

exquisite  music." 


"  Silently,  one  by  one,  in  the  infinite  heavens  of  heaven, 
Blossomed  the  lovely  stars,  the  forget-me-nots  of  the 
angels." 


"  Every  house  was  an  inn,  where  all  were  welcomed  and 

feasted  ; 
For  with  this  simple  people,  who  lived  like  brothers 

together. 
All  things  were  held  in  common,  and  what  was  one's 

was  another's. 
Yet  under  Benedict's   roof,  hospitality  seemed   more 

abundant :  • 

For  Evangeline  stood  among  the  guests  of  her  father ; 


Longfellow's  "Evangeline"  25 

Bright  was  her  face  with  smiles,  and  words  of  welcome 

and  gladness 
Fell  from  her  beautiful  lips,  and  blessed  the  cup  as  she 

gave  it." 

Style 

Longfellow  has  been  severely  criticised  for  his  use  of 
the  dactylic  hexameter.  As  Matthew  Arnold  says,  "  This 
dislike  of  the  English  hexameter  is  rather  among  the 
professional  critics  than  the  general  public,"  who  evidently 
read  it  without  any  feeling  that  it  is  not  a  proper  measure 
for  English  verse. 

"  His  sweet  heroine  and  his  other  well-drawn  characters 
deserve  to  have  their  acquaintance  made.  The  descrip- 
tive power  displayed  and  the  faculty  of  narration,  even 
if  derived  from  reading  rather  than  from  observation  and 
native  bent,  are  surely  praiseworthy ;  and  if  the  hexameter 
raise  some  qualms  by  frequently  subsiding  into  a  sort  of 
undulating  prose,  this  is  not,  for  various  reasons,  fit  cause 
for  wonder."  Trent. 

"The  hexameter  has  been  often  criticised,  but  I  do 
not  beUeve  any  other  measure  could  have  told  that  lovely 
story  with  such  effect  as  we  feel  when  carried  along  the 
tranquil  current  of  these  brimming,  slow-moving,  soul- 
satisfying  lines.  Imagine,  for  one  moment,  a  story  like 
this  minced  into  octosyllables.  The  poet  knows  better 
than  his  critics  the  length  of  step  which  best  befits  his 
muse."  O.  W.  Holmes.. 


A  BRIEF  OUTLINE  OF  BRYANT'S  "THE 
LITTLE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  SNOW  " 

Author 

William  Cullen  Bryant 

Born  1794       Z>ied  i8'j8 

Classification.       Narrative  Poem  —  Fairy  Tale 

Scene.   The  Caucasus  or  Mt,  Ararat 

Time.    In  the  olden  time,  long,  long  ago 

When  Written.     1864-1866 

Principal  Characters 
I.   Eva.  2.   The  Snow  Maiden. 

Subordinate  Characters 

1.  Uncle  John,  the  story  teller. 

2.  Alice,  who  asks  for  a  story. 

3.  The  parents  of  Eva. 

4.  The  Little  People  of  the  Snow. 

5.  The  neighbors. 

26 


Bryant's  "  The  Little  People  of  the  Snow"    27 

PLOT 

Complication 
I.     INTRODUCTION 
I.    Alice  asks  for  a  story. 

II.    THE  STORY 

1.  Description  of  the  Little  People  of  the  Snow. 

2.  Eva  goes  out  for  a  walk, 

3.  She  meets  the  Snow  Maiden. 

Climax 

Eva   disobeys  her  mother   and   goes  with  the  Snow 
Maiden  to  the  Land  of  the  Snow  People. 

Resolution 

1.  Eva  visits  the  Snow  Garden  and  looks  into  the 
Palace  of  the  Snow  People. 

2.  She  thinks  of  her  disobedience  and  starts  home-, 
ward,  accompanied  by  the  Snow  Maiden. 

3.  The  death  of  Eva. 

4.  The  arrival  of  the  searchers. 

5.  The  funeral — The  Little  People  of  the  Snow  attend. 

6.  "  A  decree  went  forth  to  cut  them  off, 

Forever,  from  communication  with  mankind." 


28    Bryant's  "  The  Little  People  of  the  Snow" 

Quotations 

"  Here  a  garden  lay, 
In  which  the  Little  People  of  the  Snow 
Were  wont  to  take  their  pastime  when  their  tasks 
Upon  the  mountain's  side  and  in  the  clouds 
Were  ended.     Here  they  taught  the  silent  frost 
To  mock,  in  stem  and  spray,  and  leaf  and  flower, 
The  growths  of  summer.     Here  the  palm  upreared 
Its  white  columnar  trunk  and  spotless  sheaf 
Of  plume-like  leaves ;  her  cedars,  huge  as  those 
Of  Lebanon,  stretched  far  their  level  boughs, 
Yet  pale  and  shadowless ;  the  sturdy  oak 
Stood,  with  its  huge  gnarled  roots  of  seeming  strength. 
Fast  anchored  in  the  glistening  bank ;  light  sprays 
Of  myrtle,  roses  in  their  bud  and  bloom. 
Drooped  by  the  winding  walks  ;  yet  all  seemed  wrought 
Of  stainless  alabaster  ;  up  the  trees 
Ran  the  lithe  jessamine,  with  stalk  and  leaf 
Colorless  as  her  flowers." 

Style 

"  His  Fancy,  what  there  was  of  it,  came  in  his  later 
years,  and  suggested  two  of  his  longest  pieces,  *  Sella ' 
and  *  The  Little  People  of  the  Snow,'  tales  of  folk-lore, 
in  which  his  lighter  and  more  graceful  handling  of  blank 
verse  may  be  studied  without  fatigue.  ...  In  this  meas- 
ure Bryant  was  at  his  height,  and  he  owes  to  it  the  most 
enduring  portion  of  his  fame." 


Bryant's  "  The  Little  People  of  the  Snow  "    29 

"  This  narrow  verbal  range  has  made  his  poetry  strong 
and  pure.  .  .  .  He  was  never  obscure.  His  diction,  like 
his  thought,  often  refreshes  us  as  the  shadow  of  a  great 
rock  in  a  weary  land.  .  .  .  His  poems  .  .  .  their  sim- 
plicity is  their  charm,"  *  Stedman. 

His  poems  have  a  rare  stateliness.  This  is  one  of  his 
striking  characteristics  and  is  well  shown  in  this  poem. 


A     BRIEF    OUTLINE     OF    BROWNING'S 
"THE     PIED     PIPER    OF     HAMELIN 

TOWN" 

Author 

Robert  Browning 
Born  1 8 1 2         Died  1 889 

Kind  of  Literature.     Narrative  Lyric — A  Modern  Ballad 

Scene.    Hamelin  Town,  on  the  Weser,  Germany 

Time.    "  500  years  ago."     1376 

When  Written.     1843 

Principal  Characters 

1.  The  Pied  Piper. 

2.  The  Mayor. 

3.  The  Rats. 

Subordinate  Characters 

1.  The  Children. 

2.  The  Council. 

3.  The  One  Lame  Boy. 

30 


Browning's  "The  Pied  Piper  of  Hamelin  Town"  31 

PLOT 

Preliminary  Events 

1.  The  plague  of  rats. 

2.  The  meeting  of  the  people  at  the  town  hall  to 
demand  relief. 

3.  The  meeting  of  the  town  council. 

4.  The  arrival  of  the  Pied  Piper. 

5.  The  bargain  to  pay  one  thousand  guilders  for  the 
destruction  of  the  rats. 

6.  Destruction  of  the  rats. 

Climax 

•     The  refusal  to  pay  the  Piper  his  thousand  guilders. 

"  '  Besides,'  quoth  the  Mayor,  with  a  knowing  wink, 
'  Our  business  was  done  at  the  river's  brink ; 
We  saw  with  our  eyes  the  vermin  sink, 
And  what's  dead  can't  come  to  life,  I  think. 
So,  friend,  we're  not  the  folks  to  shrink 
From  the  duty  of  giving  you  something  for  drink. 
And  a  matter  of  money  to  put  in  your  poke  ; 
But  as  for  the  guilders,  what  we  spoke 
Of  them,  as  you  very  well  know,  was  in  joke  — 
Beside,  our  losses  have  made  us  thrifty : 
A  thousand  guilders  !  come,  take  fifty  ! '  " 


32  Browning's  "  The  Pied  Piper  of  Hamelin  Town  " 

Concluding  Events 

1.  The  Piper  charms  the  children  of  the  town,  who 
follow  him  and  disappear. 

2.  The  proclamation  of  a  reward  for  the  return. 

3.  The  erection  of  the  memorial  column. 

4.  The   children's  descendants  found  (it  is  said)  in 
Transylvania. 

Quotations 

"  And  when  all  were  in  to  the  very  last, 
The  door  in  the  mountain  side  shut  fast. 
Did  I  say  all  ?     No  !     One  was  lame, 
And  could  not  dance  the  whole  of  the  way ; 
And  in  after  years,  if  you  would  blame 
His  sadness,  he  was  used  to  say,  — 
'  It's  dull  in  our  town  since  my  playmates  left ! 
I  can't  forget  that  I'm  bereft 
Of  all  the  pleasant  sights  they  see, 
Which  the  Piper  also  promised  me : 
For  he  led  us,  he  said,  to  a  joyous  land, 
Joining  the  town  and  just  at  hand. 
Where  waters  gushed  and  fruit-trees  grew. 
And  flowers  put  forth  a  fairer  hue. 
And  everything  was  strange  and  new ; 
The  sparrows  were  brighter  than  peacocks  here, 
And  their  dogs  outran  our  fallow-deer, 
And  honey-bees  had  lost  their  stings, 
And  horses  were  born  with  eagles'  wings ; 


Browning's  "The  Pied  Piper  of  Hamelin  Town"  33 

And  just  as  I  became  assured 

My  lame  foot  would  be  speedily  cured. 

The  music  stopped  and  I  stood  still, 

And  found  myself  outside  the  hill 

Left  alone  against  my  will, 

To  go  limping  as  before, 

And  never  hear  of  that  country  more  ! '" 

*  4K  «  jtt  «  4K  4» 

*'  So,  Willy,  let  me  and  you  be  wipers 
Of  scores  out  with  all  men  —  especially  pipers  ! 
And  whether  they  pipe  free  from  rats  or  from  mice. 
If  we  have  promised  them  aught  let  us  keep  our  promise." 

(This  gives  the  ethical  lesson  Browning  intended.) 

Style 

The  sentences  more  nearly  approach  the  normal*  prose 
structure  than  is  common  with  Browning.  Yet  there  are 
some  of  his  characteristic  twists,  —  "But  when  begins 
my  ditty,"  etc.     Cf.  Longfellow's  "  Paul  Revere." 

The  diction  is  simple  and  inclines  toward  short  Anglo- 
Saxon  words,  as  might  be  expected  in  a  poem  written 
for  children  ;  yet  he  uses  obese,  glutinous,  commentary, 
trepanned,  which  are  words  Longfellow  would  hardly  have 
used.  Note,  too,  the  juggle  with  the  rhyme  in  mice  and 
promise.     This  is  characteristically  Browningesque. 

Figures  of  speech  are  not  specially  abundant,  and  not 
generally  such  as  are  readily  comprehended  by  young 
students. 


A  BRIEF    OUTLINE    OF    LOWELLS 
"THE  VISION  OF  SIR  LAUNFAL  " 

Author 

James  Russell  Lowell 

Born  1 8 19       Died  1891 

Kind  of  Literature.    Didactic  —  Narrative  Poem 

Scene.   England     Time.   Middle  Ages 

When  Written.    1848 

Principal  Characters 
I.   Sir  Launfal.  2.  The  Leper  (Christ). 

Subordinate  Characters 
None. 

The  Story 

Once  upon  a  time,  when  the  Holy  Grail  was  still  on 
earth,  there  dwelt,  in  a  great  gloomy  castle  in  northern 
England,  a  young  and  handsome  knight  of  lofty  lineage 
called  Sir  Launfal.  In  character  and  manner  of  life  he 
was  good  and  pure;  yet  one  thing  he  lacked.  He  was  so 
self-righteous,  so  proud  of  his  noble  birth,  and  withal  so 
arrogant,  that  he  looked  down  upon  those  beneath  him  in 

34 


Lowell's  "The  yisioh  of  Sir  Launfal"       35 

rank,  and  had  no  sympathy  with  the  sorrows  of  the  poor 
or  the  sufferings  of  the  sinful.  On  this  account,  he  never 
admitted  to  his  castle  any  but  lords  and  ladies  of  high 
degree. 

According  to  the  custom  of  all  good  and  noble  knights 
of  that  time,  he  made  a  vow  to  go  forth  upon  the  Quest 
of  the  Holy  Grail.  Many  noble  knights  had  failed  in  the 
Quest,  but  Sir  Launfal  thought  that  one  so  noble  and 
good  as  himself  would  surely  succeed.  For  you  must 
know  that  only  knights  of  noble  birth  and  absolute  purity 
of  heart  could  find  the  Grail,  and  then  only  after  doing 
many  doughty  deeds  of  arms  in  behalf  of  those  in  distress. 

His  vow  made,  he  found  it  inconvenient  to  begin  the 
Quest  at  once.  From  time  to  time  he  put  it  off  to  a 
more  suitable  season,  till  he  almost  ceased  to  remember 
it.  Finally,  the  beauty  of  a  June  day  caused  him  to  recall 
his  vow.  The  season  seemed  an  especially  suitable  one 
to  begin  the  Quest.  So  he  ordered  all  things  prepared, 
and,  on  his  last  night  at  home,  lay  down  upon  a  bed  of 
rushes,  as  a  sign  that  he  considered  himself  already 
started  upon  the  Quest ;  for  so  were  the  questing  knights 
accustomed  to  do.  He  hoped  that,  during  the  night, 
some  dream  or  vision,  such  as  often  in  those  days  directed 
knights  on  their  journeys,  might  show  to  him  which  way 
he  should  take,  and  what  he  should  do  to  achieve  the 
Quest. 

It  came  to  pass  according  to  his  wish.  In  a  vision,  he 
set  forth  in  the  dawn  of  a  beautiful  June  morning  on  his 


36       Lowell's  "  The  Fision  of  Sir  Launfal" 

best  war  steed  and  dressed  in  his  best  and  brightest 
armor.  As,  on  his  prancing  steed,  he  passed  from  the 
gloom  of  the  gateway  into  the  glorious  sunshine  without, 
his  heart  leaped  and  sang  for  joy.  By  the  beauty  of  the 
daybreak  and  his  satisfaction  with  himself,  his  whole  be- 
ing seemed  lifted  far  above  things  common  and  unclean. 
Surely,  he  thought,  all  things  would  go  well  with  him,  and 
the  Quest  would  soon  be  successfully  ended. 

Suddenly  his  eyes  lighted  upon  a  hideous  object  —  a 
blot  on  the  beauty  of  the  landscape.  A  poor  leper  held 
out  his  loathsome  hands  for  alms.  All  the  beauty-  at 
once  faded  from  the  landscape,  and  Sir  Launfal's  joy 
passed  from  him.  To  his  dainty  soul  the  sight  was  simply 
disgusting.  No  feeling  of  sympathy,  no  thought  of  human 
brotherhood,  was  his.  Yet  his  very  vow  required  him  to 
relieve  the  suffering  wherever  found. 

So,  with  disgust  in  his  heart  and  scorn  on  his  face,  he 
flung  to  the  beggar  a  piece  of  gold  and  rode  quickly  on. 
Strange  to  say,  the  leper  left  the  gold  lying  where  it  fell. 
Forlorn  and  famishing  as  he  seemed,  his  self-respect  for- 
bade him  to  accept  alms  from  a  person  who  so  evidently 
scorned  one  who,  however  humble  and  helpless,  was  yet 
a  brother  man  as  precious  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  as 
even  a  gay  young  knight. 

Many  years  passed  away  and  Sir  Launfal  grew  old 
without  achieving  the  Quest.  His  armor,  once  new  and 
bright,  became  old,  battle-scarred,  and  dingy.     Often  he 


Lowell's  "  The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal"       37 

was  hungry,  often  almost  naked.  Many  times  he  was 
obhged  to  seek  succor  from  others.  Gradually  his  own 
sorrows  and  sufferings  wrought  a  change  of  heart.  He 
lost  his  pride  and  haughtiness,  and  began  to  sympathize 
with  the  poor  and  lowly.  Obliged  to  accept  alms  himself, 
he  began  to  understand  what  true  charity  meant. 

At  last,  from  the  far  East,  whither  his  wanderings  had 
led  him,  and  where  the  Grail  seemed  no  nearer  than 
before,  he  turned  his  steps  homeward.  On  Christmas 
Eve,  a  poor,  friendless,  gray-haired  old  man,  he  knocked 
at  the  gate  of  his  own  castle.  Within  all  was  light  and 
laughter  and  joy  in  celebration  of  the  birth  of  the  poor 
and  lowly  Saviour  who  Himself  often  had  not  where  to  lay 
His  head ;  yet  the  seneschal  denied  the  claim  of  Sir 
Launfal  to  enter  his  own  hall,  and  brutally  turned  him 
from  the  gate.  Another  lord  ruled  his  lands,  and  no  one 
would  recognize,  in  the  broken  old  man,  the  gay  Sir  Launfal 
who  had  gone  forth  that  bright  June  morning  so  many 
years  ago  on  the  Quest  of  the  Holy  Grail. 

All  through  the  long  winter  night  Sir  Launfal  sat  shiv- 
ering in  the  gateway,  which  afforded  slight  protection 
from  the  bitter  blasts,  and  saw  the  cheerful  lights  shine 
through  the  windows  of  the  hall,  and  heard  the  laughter 
of  the  gay  company  within.  At  daybreak  he  was  vainly 
trying  to  warm  himself  with  the  thought  of  the  tropical 
deserts  through  which  he  had  often  wandered.  In  his 
mind's  eye  he  saw  a  long  line  of  camels,  slowly  winding 
across  the  level  desert  toward  a  distant  oasis  with  its 


38       LowelPs  "The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal" 

crowii  of  waving  palms,  beneath  which  sparkled  the  water 
of  a  clear  flowing  spring.  Suddenly  his  meditations  were 
interrupted  by  a  request  for  alms.  Looking  up,  he  saw 
beside  him  the  selfsame  beggar  to  whom  he  had  so  long 
before  scornfully  tossed  his  gold. 

There  was  no  scorn  in  his  heart  now.  In  the  beggar 
he  saw  a  fellow-sufferer  and  an  image  of  Him  who  died 
on  the  Cross.  The  leper  was,  if  possible,  a  more  grew- 
some  sight  than  before,  but  Sir  Launfal  thought  not  of 
that.  All  his  daintiness  had  gone  from  him.  He  broke 
his  single  crust,  and  with  a  wooden  cup  dipped  cold 
water  from  the  icy  river.  These,  the  best  and  the  last  he 
had,  he  offered  to  the  beggar. 

Climax 

As  the  leper  touched  them,  a  wondrous  change  took 
place.  The  mouldy  bread  became  fresh  and  white,  and 
in  the  wooden  cup,  instead  of  clear  water,  there  was  the 
sparkle  of  rich,  red  wine.  And  a  voice  that  was  softer 
than  silence  said  :  — 

"  '  Lo  it  is  I,  be  not  afraid  ! 
In  many  climes,  without  avail, 
Thou  hast  spent  thy  life  for  the  Holy  Grail ; 
Behold,  it  is  here,  —  this  cup  which  thou 
Didst  fill  at  the  streamlet  for  Me  but  now ; 
This  crust  is  My  body  broken  for  thee, 
This  water  His  blood  that  died  on  the  tree  ; 


Lowell's  "  The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal"       39 

The  Holy  Supper  is  kept,  indeed, 
In  whatso  we  share  with  another's  need; 
Not  what  we  give,  but  what  we  share. 
For  the  gift  without  the  giver  is  bare  ; 
Who  gives  himself  with  his  alms  feeds  three. 
Himself,  his  hungering  neighbor,  and  Me.' " 

Sir  Launfal  awoke  and  recognized  that  his  Quest 
was  ended  even  before  it  was  begun.  The  true  Grail  was 
found  within  his  own  heart  and  his  own  castle.  He  hung 
up  his  mail  and  threw  open  his  castle  to  all  comers.  The 
poor  and  lowly  were  especially  welcome,  since  in  them  he 
saw  the  image  of  the  Crucified  One.  The  rest  of  his  life 
he  spent  in  doing  good,  and  his  fame  was  spread  abroad 
through  all  the  North  Countree. 

So  ends  the  story  of  Sir  Launfal. 

Note 

"According  to  the  mythology  of  the  Romancers,  the 
San  Greal,  or  Holy  Grail,  was  the  cup  out  of  which  Jesus 
Christ  partook  of  the  last  supper  with  his  disciples.  It 
was  brought  into  England  by  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  and 
remained  there,  an  object  of  pilgrimage  and  adoration, 
for  many  years  in  the  keeping  of  his  lineal  descendants. 
It  was  incumbent  upon  those  who  had  charge  of  it  to  be 
chaste  in  thought,  word,  and  deed ;  but,  one  of  the 
keepers  having  broken  this  condition,  the  Holy  Grail 
disappeared.  From  that  time  it  was  a  favorite  enterprise 
of  the  Knights  of  Arthur's  court  to  go  in  search  of  it. 


40       Lowell's  "  The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal" 

Sir  Galahad  was  at  last  successful  in  finding  it,  as  may  be 
read  in  the  seventeenth  book  of  the  Romance  of  King 
Arthur.  Tennyson  has  made  Sir  Galahad  the  subject  of 
one  of  the  most  exquisite  of  his  poems. 

"The  plot  (if  I  may  give  that  name  to  anything  so 
slight)  of  the  following  poem  is  my  own,  and,  to  serve  its 
purposes,  I  have  enlarged  the  circle  of  competition  in 
search  of  the  miraculous  cup  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
include  not  only  other  persons  than  the  heroes  of  the 
Round  Table,  but  also  a  period  of  time  subsequent  to 
the  date  of  King  Arthur's  reign."  /.  R.  Lowell. 

Quotations 

"  The  leper  raised  not  the  gold  from  the  dust ; 
*  Better  to  me  is  the  poor  man's  crust, 
Better  the  blessing  of  the  poor, 
Though  I  turn  me  empty  from  his  door ; 
That  is  no  alms  which  the  hand  can  hold ; 
He  gives  only  the  worthless  gold 

Who  gives  from  a  sense  of  duty ; 
But  he  who  gives  but  a  slender  mite 
And  gives  to  that  which  is  out  of  sight, 

That  thread  of  all-sustaining  Beauty 
Which  runs  through  all  and  doth  all  unite,  — 
The  hand  cannot  grasp  the  whole  of  his  alms, 
The  heart  outstretches  its  eager  palms. 
For  a  god  goes  with  it  and  makes  it  store 
To  the  heart  that  was  starving  in  darkness  before.'  " 


Lowell's  "The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal"       41 

Style 

The  style  of  this  poem  is  characterized  by  lucidity, 
freshness,  pathos,  musical  quality,  profusion  of  beautiful 
imagery,  earnestness,  and  dignity.  There  is  scarcely  a 
commonplace  figure  or  line  in  the  whole  poem. 

-The  diction  is  refined,  elevated,  and  poetical.     (Note 
the  number  of  words  not  in  common  use  in  prose.) 

The  sentences  and  stanzas  are  well  constructed. 

The  structure  of  the  poem  as  a  narrative  lacks  unity. 
The  connection  of  the  two  long  lyric  introductions  to  the 
general  action  and  theme  is  not  obvious  to  the  casual 
reader. 

One  of  the  most  striking  things  about  this  poem  is  the 
large  number  of  vivid  contrasts  and  antitheses  found  in  it. 

"The  moral  of  this  semi-Tennysonian  incursion  into 
the  realms  of  Arthurian  romance  is  sufficiently  exem- 
plary and  democratic  to  account  in  part  for  its  popularity  ; 
but  some  of  Lowell's  critics  have  probably  been  justified 
in  holding  that  readers  have  been  more  attracted  by  the 
passion  and  charm  of  the  poet's  outburst  in  praise  of 
June  than  by  the  moralized  legend  itself."  Trent. 


LYRIC   POETRY 


A   BRIEF   OUTLINE   OF   TENNYSON'S 
"SIR   GALAHAD" 

Author 

Alfred  Lord  Tennyson 

Born  1809       Died  1892 

When  Written.     1842  (Pub.) 

Kind  of  Lyric.     Reflective  —  Pervaded  with  Religious 
Emotion 

Prevailing  Foot.     Iambus 

Prevailing  Line.     Tetrameter 

Rime  Scheme.     ababcdcdxe(ff)e 

Stanza.     Twelve  lines 

First  Lines 

"  My  good  sword  carves  the  casques  of  men, 
My  tough  lance  thrusteth  sure, 
My  strength  is  as  the  strength  of  ten, 
Because  my  heart  is  pure," 

Central  Theme,  or  Ethical  Lesson 

The  apotheosis  of  asceticism. 
The  strength  and  beauty  of  unsuUied  purity. 


Tennyson's  "Sir  Galahad" 

Secondary  Theme 

Persevering  faith  in  holiness. 

*"  O  just  and  faithful  knight  of  God  ! 

Ride  on,  the  prize  is  near  ! ' 
So  pass  I  hostel,  hall,  and  grange ; 

By  bridge  and  ford,  by  park  and  pale, 
All-armed  I  ride,  whate'er  betide, 

Until  I  find  the  Holy  Grail." 

Quotations 

**  How  sweet  the  looks  that  ladies  bend 

On  whom  their  favors  fall ! 
For  them  I  battle  to  the  end, 

To  save  from  shame  and  thrall ; 
But  all  my  heart  is  drawn  above, 

My  knees  are  bowed  in  crypt  and  shrine ; 
I  never  felt  the  kiss  of  love, 

Nor  maiden's  hand  in  mine. 
More  bounteous  aspects  on  me  beam, 

Me  mightier  transports  move  and  thrill ; 
So  keep  I  fair  thro'  faith  and  prayer 

A  virgin  heart  in  work  and  will. 

*'  When  down  the  stormy  crescent  goes, 
A  light  before  me  swims, 
Between  dark  stems  the  forest  glows, 
I  hear  a  noise  of  hymns. 


Tennyson* s  "Sir  Galahad'*  3 

Then  by  some  secret  shrine  I  ride ; 

I  hear  a  voice,  but  none  are  there ; 
The  stalls  are  void,  the  doors  are  wide. 

The  tapers  burning  fair. 
Fair  gleams  the  snowy  altar-cloth. 

The  silver  vessels  sparkle  clean, 
The  shrill  bell  rings,  the  censor  swings, 

And  solemn  chaunts  resound  between." 

Style 

While  this  poem  does  not  exhibit  Tennyson's  genius 
in  its  fullness  of  originality  and  power,  it  is  nearly  or 
quite  the  best  specimen  of  his  unrivaled  technique.  He 
has  employed  every  device  known  to  masters  of  poetic 
structure  to  secure  lyric  sweetness  and  smoothness ;  it 
sings  itself.  Among  the  devices  are  onomatopoeia,  as 
"the  shattering  trumpet  shrilleth  high";  alliteration, 
"  lightly  rain  from  ladies'  hands,"  "  looks  that  ladies 
bend,"  "  reel  they  roll,"  "  some  secret  shrine,"  etc. 
Then,  too,  note  the  effect  of  the  omission  of  rime  in 
the  ninth  line  and   the  internal  rime  in  the  eleventh. 


A   BRIEF   OUTLINE    OF   ROBERT 
BROWNING'S    "TRAY" 

Author 

Robert  Browning 

Born  i2)i 2       Z>/V</ 1889 

When  Writteji.     1879 

Kind  of  Lyric.     Didactic  —  Moralizing 

Prevailing  Foot.     Iambic 

Prevailing  Line.    Tetrameter 

Rime  Scheme,     aabba 

Stanza.     Five  lines 

Introduction 

Three  poets  are  asked  to  sing  of  a  hero.  Two  begin 
with  antique  themes.  The  third  speaks  of  a  little  child 
sitting  on  a  quay.  His  story  awakens  interest,  and  he 
is  requested  to  proceed. 

Central  Theme,  or  Ethical  Lesson 

The  barbarity  of  vivisection. 
4 


Robert  Browning's  "  Tray" 


TRAY 

Sing  me  a  hero  !     Quench  my  thirst 
Of  soul,  ye  bards  ! 

Quoth  Bard  the  first : 
"  Sir  Olaf,  the  good  knight,  did  don 
5  His  helm  and  eke  his  habergeon  "... 
Sir  Olaf  and  his  bard ! 

"  That  sin-scathed  brow  "  (quoth  Bard  the 

second), 
"That    eye    wide    ope    as    though    Fate 

beckoned 
My  hero  to  some  steep,  beneath 
Which     precipice     smiled     tempting 

death"  .  .  . 
II  You  too  without  your  host  have  reckoned ! 

"A  beggar-child  "  {lefs  hear  this  third /) 
"  Sat  on  a  quay's  edge  :  like  a  bird 
Sang  to  herself  at  careless  play, 
15  And  fell  into  the  stream.     '  Dismay  ! 
Help,  you  the  standers-by  ! '    None  stirred. 

"  Bystanders  reason,  think  of  wives 
And  children  ere  they  risk  their  lives. 
Over  the  balustrade  has  bounced 
20  A  mere  instinctive  dog,  and  pounced 
Plumb  on  the  prize.     '  How  well  he  dives ! 


Analysis 
Introduction 
(see  page  4). 
A  little  girl 
sitting  on  the 
edge  of  a  quay 
fell  into  the 
water. 
None  of  the 
human  specta- 
tors went  to 
her  rescue. 

They  selfishly 
thought  of 
their  own 
safety  first. 

A  noble  dog 
sprang  into  the 
water 


Robert  Browning's  "Tray" 


" '  Up  he  comes  with  the  child,  see,  tight 
In  mouth,  aUve  too,  clutched  from  quite 
A  depth  of  ten  feet  —  twelve,  I  bet ! 
25  Good  dog  !     What,  off  again?    There's  yet 
Another  child  to  save  ?     All  right ! 

"  *  How  strange  we  saw  no  other  fall ! 
It's  instinct  in  the  animal. 
Good  dog  !     But  he's  a  long  while  under  : 
30  If  he  got  drowned  I  should  not  wonder  — 
Strong  current,  that  against  the  wall ! 

"  '  Here  he  comes,  holds  in  mouth  this  time 
—  What  may  the  thing  be  ?     Well,  that's 

prime  ! 
Now,  did  you  ever  ?     Reason  reigns 
35  In  man  alone,  since  all  Tray's  pains 
Have  fished  —  the  child's  doll  from  the 

sHme ! ' 

"  And  so,  amid  the  laughter  gay, 
Trotted  my  hero  off,  —  old  Tray,  — 
Till  somebody,  prerogatived 
40  With  reason,  reasoned  :  '  Why  he  dived. 
His  brain  would  show  us,  I  should  say. 

"  *  John,  go  and  catch  —  or,  if  needs  be. 
Purchase  —  that  animal  for  me  ! 
By  vivisection,  at  expense 
45  Of  half  an  hour  and  eightqenpence. 
How  brain  secretes  dog's  soul,  we'll  see  ! '  " 


and  brought 
her  safely 
ashore. 

To  the  surprise 
of  the  onlook- 
ers he  again 
sprang  into  the 
water  and, 


after  a  con- 
siderable time, 


brought  up  — 


the  child's  doll! 


Then  he 
trotted  off. 

A  bystander, 
curious  to 
know  how  the 
dog's  brain 
worked, 

bade  a  servant 
catch  or  buy 
the  dog 
that  he  might 
vivisect  him. 


Robert  Browning's  "Tray"  7 

Style 

This  poem  should  be  compared  with  "Paul  Revere"  and 
"Sir  Galahad."  Note  the  different  methods  employed. 
Browning  is  abrupt,  disjointed,  yet  he  arouses  stronger 
emotions  than  either  Longfellow  or  Tennyson, 

The  story  is  by  no  means  so  easy  to  follow  as  in  "  Paul 
Revere."  The  moral  is  quite  as  powerfully  brought  out 
as  in  "  Sir  Galahad." 

The  poem  is  much  harder  to  read  aloud  than  either  of 
the  others.  In  this  short  poem  Browning  uses  eighteen 
exclamation  points,  eight  dashes,  and  there  are  two 
parentheses.  Bard,  quoth,  don,  helm,  eke,  habergeon, 
ope,  steep,  host,  prerogatived,  give  a  different  character 
to  his  diction  from  that  found  in  either  of  the  other 
poems. 

The  supreme  quality  of  this  poem  is  force. 

Style  —  colloquial  —  the  language  of  the  street. 


A  BRIEF  OUTLINE  OF  LONGFELLOW'S 
"PAUL    REVERE'S    RIDE" 

Author 

H.  W.  Longfellow 

Born  1807       Died  1882 

l^^en  Written.     1863-1874 

Kind  of  Lyric.     Modern  Ballad 

Prevailing  Foot.     Iambic  and  Anapestic 

Prevailing  Line.     Tetrameter 

Rime  Scheme,     aabbcc  (varied) 

Stanza.     None  (paragraphed) 

Introduction 

"  Listen,  my  children,  and  you  shall  hear 
Of  the  midnight  ride  of  Paul  Revere, 
On  the  eighteenth  of  April,  in  Seventy-five." 

Central  Theme 

How  Paul  Revere  rode  from  Boston  to  Concord  to 
notify  the  colonists  of  the  intended  raid  of  the  British  on 
the  morrow. 

8 


Longfellow's  "  Paul  Revere' s  Ride  "  9 

Conclusion 
"So  through  the  night  rode  Paul  Revere ; 
And  through  the  night  went  his  cry  of  alarm 
To  every  Middlesex  village  and  farm,  — 
A  cry  of  defiance  and  not  of  fear, 
A  voice  in  the  darkness,  a  knock  at  the  door, 
And  a  word  that  shall  echo  forevermore  ! 
For,  borne  on  the  night-wind  of  the  Past, 
Through  all  our  history,  to  the  last. 
In  the  hour  of  darkness  and  peril  and  need, 
The  people  will  waken  and  listen  to  hear, 
The  hurrying  hoof  beats  of  that  steed. 
And  the  midnight  tnessage  of  Paul  Revere" 

Quotations 

"And  lo  !  as  he  looks,  on  the  belfry's  height 
A  gHmmer  and  then  a  gleam  of  light ! 
He  springs  to  his  saddle,  the  bridle  he  turns, 
But  lingers  and  gazes,  till  full  on  his  sight 
A  second  lamp  in  the  belfry  burns." 

*♦♦****■ 

"A  hurry  of  hoofs  in  a  village  street, 
A  shape  in  the  moonlight,  a  bulk  in  the  dark. 
And  beneath,  from  the  pebbles,  in  passing,  a  spark 
Struck  out  by  a  steed  flying  fearless  and  fleet : 
That  was  all !   And  yet,  through  the  gloom  and  the  light, 
The  fate  of  a  nation  was  riding  that  night ; 
And  the  spark  struck  out  by  that  steed,  in  his  flight, 
Kindled  the  land  into  flame  with  its  heat." 


10  Longfellow^ s  "Paul  Revere' s  Ride" 

Style 

The  words  of  this  poem  are,  for  the  most  part,  simple, 
common,  everyday  words.  Probably  Anglo-Saxon  words 
predominate,  rather  than  Latin. 

Tne  style  is  characterized  by  coherence,  unity,  force, 
and  ease  (or  smoothness). 

Comparatively  few  figures  are  used.  It  is  worth  while 
to  note  a  few  alUterations  :  "  Masses  and  moving  shapes 
of  shade,"  "ghmmer  and  then  a  gleam,"  "belfry  burns," 
"  hurry  of  hoofs,"  "  spark  struck  out  by  a  steed,"  "  Now 
soft  on  the  sand,  now  loud  on  the  ledge,"  etc. 

The  sentences  are  unusually  normal  for  poetry,  having 
comparatively  few  inversions,  nor  are  they  very  much 
more  difficult  than  in  ordinary  prose.  Compare  some 
of  Browning's  poems. 

Attention  should  also  be  called  to  the  rapid  movement 
of  the  verse,  and  the  ease  with  which  the  story  can  be 
disentangled  from  the  poem.  This  is  due  to  the  clear- 
ness of  the  style  and  the  close  chronological  sequence 
observed  in  the  poem.  Compare  with  this  Browning's 
"  Tray,"  and  note  the  enormous  difference. 

It  may  be  worth  while  to  call  attention  to  Mr.  Long- 
fellow's belief  in  the  future  glory  and  prosperity  of  our 
country,  and  the  permanency  of  our  institutions,  as 
indicated  in  the  two  quotations  here  given. 


A    BRIEF   OUTLINE    OF    BURNS' 
"BANNOCKBURN" 

Author 

Robert  Burns 

Born  1759         Died  1796 

When  Written.     1793 
Kind  of  Lyric.     A  Dithyrambic  War  Ode 

Prevailing  Foot.     Trochee  (may  be  considered  iambic 

with  first  syllable  missing  in  first  foot) 

Prevailing  Line.     Tetrameter 

Rime  Scheme,     aaab  cccb 

Stanza.    Triplet  (with  a  fourth  short  line) 

Introduction 

"At  Bannockburn  the  English  lay  — 
The  Scots  they  were  na'  far  away. 
But  waited  for  the  break  o'  day 
That  glinted  in  the  east. 

"  But  soon  the  sun  broke  through  the  heath       ^ 
And  lighted  up  that  field  o'  death, 
When  Bruce,  with  saul-inspiring  breath 
His  heralds  thus  addressed  :  " 


12  Burns'  "  Bannockburn" 

Central  Theme 
Love  of  freedom  and  love  of  country. 

Conclusion 
"  Let  us  do,  or  die." 

BANNOCKBURN 

"At  Bannockburn  the  English  lay  — 
The  Scots  they  were  na'  far  away. 
But  waited  for  the  break  o'  day 
That  glinted  in  the  east. 

"  But  soon  the  sun  broke  through  the  heath 
And  lighted  up  that  field  o'  death, 
When  Bruce,  with  saul-inspiring  breath, 
His  heralds  thus  addressed : 

"  *  Scots,  wha  hae  wi'  Wallace  bled ; 
Scots,  wham  Bruce  has  aften  led ; 
Welcome  to  your  gory  bed, 
Or  to  victorie. 

"'Now's  the  day,  and  now'^  the  hour; 
See  the  front  o'  battle  lour ; 
See  approach  proud  Edward's  pow'r  — 
Chains  and  slaverie  ! 

•*' Wha  will  be  a  traitor-knave? 
Wha  can  fill  a  coward's  grave  ? 
Wha  sae  base  as  be  a  slave? 

Let  him  turn  and  flee  ! 


Burns'  ' '  Bannockburn ' '  13 

"*Wha  for  Scotland's  king  and  law 
Freedom's  sword  will  strongly  draw. 
Free-man  stand,  or  free-man  fa'? 
Let  him  follow  me  ! 

"  *  By  oppression's  woes  and  pains  ! 
By  your  sons  in  servile  chains  ! 
We  will  drain  our  dearest  veins. 
But  they  shall  be  free  ! 

**  *  Lay  the  proud  usurpers  low  ! 
Tyrants  fall  in  every  foe  ! 
Liberty's  in  every  blow  ! 

Let  us  do,  or  die  ! '  " 

"  Why  should  we  speak  of  "  Scots  wha  hae  wi'  Wallace 
bled,"  since  all  know  of  it,  from  the  king  to  the  meanest  of 
his  subjects?  This  dithyrambic  was  composed  on  horse- 
back ;  in  riding  in  the  middle  of  tempests,  over  the  wildest 
Galloway  moor,  in  company  with  a  Mr.  Syme,  who,  ob- 
serving the  poet's  looks,  forbore  to  speak, — judiciously 
enough,  for  a  man  composing  "Bruce's  Address"  might 
be  unsafe  to  trifle  with.  Doubtless  this  stern  hymn  was 
singing  itself,  as  he  formed  it,  through  the  soul  of  Burns  ; 
but  to  the  external  ear,  it  should  be  sung  with  the  throat 
of  the  whirlwind.  So  long  as  there  is  warm  blood  in  the 
heart  of  Scotchman  or  man,  it  will  move  in  fierce  thrills 
under  this  war  ode,  —  the  best,  we  believe,  that  was  ever 
written  by  any  pen."  Carlyle. 


A    BRIEF    OUTLINE    OF    LOWELL'S 
"THE   FINDING  OF  THE  LYRE  " 

Author 

James  Russell  Lowell 

Born  1 819         Died  \?>()x 

When  Written.     1868 

Kind  of  Lyric.    Lyric  of  Reflection 

Prevailing  Foot.     Iambus 

Prevailing  Line.     Tetrameter 

Rime  Scheme.     See  first  stanza 

Stanza.     Eight  lines 

First  Lines 

"  There  lay  upon  the  ocean's  shore 
What  once  a  tortoise  served  to  cover." 

Central  Theme 

To  the  eye  that  can  see,  the  ear  that  can  hear,  and  the 
hand  of  skill  the  world  is  full  of  beauty,  music,  and  utility. 

"  O  empty  world  that  round  us  lies. 
Dead  shell,  of  soul  and  thought  forsaken, 
Brought  we  but  eyes  like  Mercury's, 
In  thee  what  songs  would  waken  ! " 
14 


Lowell's  "  The  Finding  of  the  Lyre''         15 

Chief  Figure 

This  poem  is  an  allegory.  The  shell  is  the  world.  The 
fisherman,  the  fisher  girl,  and  her  brother  are  those  who 
have  eyes  that  see  not,  ears  that  hear  not,  and  hearts  that 
do  not  understand. 

Mercury  is  the  man  of  genius,  the  seer,  the  inventor, 
whose  eyes  see  the  beauty  of  the  world  of  nature,  whose 
fertile  brain  and  skilled  hand  put  things  to  new  uses  and 
evoke  celestial  music  from  the  most  unlikely  instruments. 

THE   FINDING  OF  THE   LYRE^ 

"  There  lay  upon  the  ocean's  shore  a 
What  once  a  tortoise  served  to  cover,         b 

A  year  and  more,  with  rush  and  roar,  aa 

The  surf  had  rolled  it  over,  b 

Had  played  with  it,  and  flung  it  by,  c 

As  wind  and  weather  might  decide  it,  d 
Then  tossed  it  high  where  sand-drifts  dry  cc 

Cheap  burial  might  provide  it.  d 

"  It  rested  there  to  bleach  or  tan, 
The  rains  had  soaked,  the  suns  had  burned  it ; 
With  many  a  ban  the  fisherman 
Had  stumbled  o'er  and  spurned  it ; 
And  there  the  fisher  girl  would  stay. 
Conjecturing  with  her  brother 

1  This  poem  is  inserted  entire  by  special  arrangement  with,  and  per- 
mission of,  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  the  authorized  publishers  of  the 
writings  of  James  Russell  Lowell. 


16         Lowell's  "  The  Finding  of  the  Lyre'' 

How  in  their  play  the  poor  estray 
Might  serve  some  use  or  other. 

"  So  there  it  lay,  through  wet  and  dry, 
As  empty  as  the  last  new  sonnet, 
Till  by  and  by  came  Mercury, 
And  having  mused  upon  it, 
*  Why,  here,'  cried  he,  '  the  thing  of  things 
In  shape,  material,  and  dimension  ! 
Give  it  but  strings,  and,  lo,  it  sings, 
A  wonderful  invention  ! ' 

"  So  said,  so  done  ;  the  chords  he  strained, 
And  as  his  fingers  o'er  them  hovered, 
The  shell  disdained,  a  soul  had  gained. 
The  lyre  had  been  discovered. 
O  empty  world  that  round  us  lies. 
Dead  shell,  of  soul  and  thought  forsaken. 
Brought  we  but  eyes  like  Mercury's, 
In  thee  what  songs  should  waken  !  " 

Style 
"  The  moral  element  is  the  central  one  in  Lowell." 

Arthur  B.  Simonds. 

"The  chief  characteristic  of  Lowell's  style  as  a  poet 
and  critic  may  be  summed  up  in  Theodore  Watts's  single 
word  of  apt  characterization,  sagacity,  —  a  word  which,  if 
not  necessarily  synonymous  with  high  creative  genius,  is 
indicative  of  applied  intellectual  strength."       Rickardsotu 


A    BRIEF    OUTLINE    OF    HOLMES' 
"THE  CHAMBERED  NAUTILUS" 

Author 

Oliver  Wendell  Holmes 

Born  1809       Died  1894 

When  Written.     1858 

Kind  of  Lyric.     Lyric  of  Reflection 

Prevailing  Foot.     Iambus 

Prevailing  Line.     See  first  stanza 

Rime  Scheme,     aabbbcc 

Stanza.     Seven  lines 

Introduction 

A  description  of  the  chambered  Nautilus.  "This  is 
the  ship  of  pearl."     Three  stanzas. 

Chief  Figure 

The  Nautilus  is  personified  —  treated  as  a  conscious 
builder  of  his  shell.  The  fourth  stanza  is  an  "  apos- 
trophe"  to  the  Nautilus;  the  fifth  is  an  "apostrophe" 
to  the  poet's  own  soul. 

17 


18         Holmes'  "The  Chambered  Nautilus'^ 

Conclusion 

An   application   of  the   "  heavenly  message "   of  the 
Nautilus  to  the  soul  of  man. 

"  Build  thee  more  stately  mansions,  O  my  soul." 

THE  CHAMBERED   NAUTILUS 

This  is  the  ship  of  pearl,  which,  poets  feign,      Pentameter, 
/■  /  /  ■■ 

Sails  the  unshadowed  main,  —  .        Trimeter. 

/  /  /  ' 

The  venturous  bark  that  flings  Trimeter. 

On  the  sweet  summer  wind  its  purpled  wings    Pentameter. 

/  /  /  /         / 

In  gulfs  enchanted,  where  the  Siren  sings,  Pentameter. 

And  coral  reefs  lie  bare.  Trimeter. 

/  /  /  /  /  y 

Where  the/cold  sea-maids  rise  to  sun  their  streammg  hair. 

Hexatneter. 

^  .    /  /  /  / 

Its  webs  of  living  gauze  no  more  unfurl ; 

Wrecked  is  the  ship  of  pearl ! 

And  every  chambered  cell 

Where  its  dim  dreaming  life  was  wont  to  dwell, 

/  /  /  /  / 

As  the  frail  tenant  shaped  his  growing  shell, 

Before  thee  lies  revealed,  — 
/  /  /  /  /■  • 

Its  irised  ceiling  rent,  its  sunless  crypt  unsealed  ! 


Holmes'  "The  Chambered  Nautilus '^         19 

Year  after  year  beheld  the  silent  toil 

That  spread  his  lustrous  coil ; 

Still,  as  the  spiral  grew, 
He  left  the  past  year's  dwelling  for  the  new, 
Stole  with  soft  step  its  shining  archway  through. 

Built  up  its  idle  door, 
Stretched  in  his  last-found  home,  and  knew  the  old  no 
more. 

Thanks  for  the  heavenly  message  brought  by  thee. 

Child  of  the  wandering  sea, 

Cast  from  her  lap,  forlorn  ! 
From  thy  dead  lips  a  clearer  note  is  born 
Than  ever  Triton  blew  from  wreathed  horn  ! 

While  on  mine  ear  it  rings, 
Through  the  deep  caves  of  thought  I  hear  a  voice  that 
sings  :  — 

Build  thee  more  stately  mansions,  O  my  soul 

As  the  swift  seasons  roll  ! 

Leave  thy  low-vaulted  past ! 
Let  each  new  temple,  nobler  than  the  last,  • 

Shut  thee  from  heaven  with  a  dome  more  vast. 

Till  thou  at  length  art  free. 
Leaving  thine  outgrown  shell  by  life's  unresting  sea  ! 

Style 

"  His  verses,  with    the  measured  drum-beat  of  their 
natural  rhythm,  were  easily  understood  ;  he  bothered  his 


20        Holmes'  "The  Chambered  Nautilus'* 

audience  with  no  accidental  effects,  no  philandering  after 
the  finer  lyrical  distinctions.  It  is  not  hard  to  surmise 
what  'standard'  poets  had  been  found  on  his  father's 
bookshelves.  Eloquence  was  a  feature  of  his  lyrics, — 
such  as  broke  out  in  the  line,  'Ay,  tear  her  tattered  ensign 
down  !  *  (cf.  '  Build  thee  more  stately  mansions,  O  my 
soul ')  and  the  simple  force  of  '  Old  Ironsides '  is  indeed 
worth  noting,  as  it  culminates  in  the  last  stanza.  (Cf. 
last  stanza  of  'The  Chambered  Nautilus.') 

"  Accepting,  then,  with  hearty  thanks,  his  care-dispelling 
rhyme  and  reason,  pleased  often  by  the  fancies  which  he 
tenders  in  lieu  of  imagination  and  power,  —  we  go  through 
the  collection  of  his  verse,  and  see  that  it  has  amounted 
to  a  great  deal  in  the  course  of  a  bustling  fifty  years. 

"  But  '  The  Living  Temple  '  and  '  The  Chambered 
Nautilus  *  doubtless  show  us  their  writer's  finer  qualities, 
and  are  not  soon  to  be  forgotten."  Stedman. 

"  His  lyrical  faciUty  was  unsurpassed  by  that  of  any  of 
our  writers."  Richardson. 

•  "  Probably  his  prose  will  endure  longer  than  his  verse. 
For  his  chief  quality  was  intelligence,  and  poetry  demands 
rather  imagination."  Matthews. 

"  Nor  was  there  ever  produced  in  America,  per- 
haps, any  (other)  merely  meditative  poem  of  the  sea 
so  thoughtful  and  so  perfect  in  execution  as  Holmes's 
'  The  Chambered  Nautilus.'  "  T.  W.  Higginson. 


A    BRIEF   OUTLINE    OF    EMERSON'S 
"THE    RHODORA" 

Author 

Ralph  Waldo  Emerson 

Born  1803         Died  \ZZ2 

When  Written.     0000 

Kind  of  Lyric.     Lyric  of  Reflection 

Prevailing  Foot.     Iambus 

Prevailing  Line.     Pentameter 

Rime  Scheme,     aabbcc,  etc.  (varied) 

Stanza.     None 

Introduction 

"  In  May,  when  sea  winds  pierced  our  solitudes, 
I  found  the  fresh  Rhodora  in  the  woods." 

Central  Theme 

What  ever  is,  is  right —  the  eternal  fitness  of  things. 

Secondary  Theme 

"  Beauty  is  its  own  excuse  for  being." 
21 


22  Emerson's  "The  Rhodora" 

THE  RHODORA 

**  In  May,  when  sea  winds  pierced  our  solitudes, 
I  found  the  fresh  Rhodora  in  the  woods, 
Spreading  its  leafless  blooms  in  a  damp  nook, 
To  please  the  desert  and  the  sluggish  brook. 
The  purple  petals,  fallen  in  the  pool, 
Made  the  black  water  with  their  beauty  gay. 
Here  might  the  red-bird  come  his  plumes  to  cool. 
And  court  the  flower  that  cheapens  his  array. 
Rhodora,  if  the  sages  ask  thee  why 
This  charm  is  wasted  on  the  marsh  and  sky, 
Dear,  tell  them  that  if  eyes  were  made  for  seeing. 
Then  beauty  is  its  own  excuse  for  being. 
Why  thou  wert  there,  O  rival  of  the  rose  ! 
I  never  thought  to  ask,  I  never  knew ; 
But,  in  my  simple  ignorance,  suppose 
The  selfsame  Power  that  brought  me  there  brought  you." 

Style 

"  Style  makes  itself,  and  Emerson's  is  the  apothegmatic 
style  of  one  bent  upon  uttering  his  immediate  thoughts, 
—  hence  strong  in  sentences,  and  only  by  chance  suited 
to  the  formation  of  an  essay.  Each  sentence  is  a  flash 
of  light,  an  epigram,  an  image,  or  a  flash  of  spiritual 
light.  .  .  .  His  laconic  phrases  are  the  very  honey-cells 
of  thought.  .  .  .  Throughout  Emerson's  writings  each 
word  is  of  value.  .  .  .     His  poems  are  light  as  air. 


Emerson's  "The  Rhodora"  23 

"  At  times  I  think  him  the  first  of  our  lyric  poets,  his 
turns  are  so  wild  and  unexpected ;  and  he  was  never 
commonplace,  even  when  writing  for  occasions.  .  .  .  His 
instant,  sure,  yet  airy  transcripts  gave  his  poems  a  quality 
without  a  counterpart.  Some  of  his  measures  had  at  least 
the  flutter  of  the  twig  whence  the  bird  has  just  flown. 

"  Finally,  this  poet's  joinery  is  so  true,  so  mortised  with 
the  one  apt  word,  as  where  he  says  that  the  wings  of  Time 
are  '  pied  with  morning  and  with  night,'  and  the  one  best 
word  or  phrase  is  so  unlooked  for,  that,  as  I  say,  we 
scarcely  know  whether  all  this  comes  by  grace  of  instinct, 
or  with  search  and  artistic  forethought. 

"  Common  opinion  justified  Mr.  Sanborn's  fine  paradox 
that,  instead  of  its  being  settled  that  Emerson  could  not 
write  poetry,  it  was  settled  that  he  could  write  nothing 
else."  Stedman. 

"  As  a  poet,  Emerson  was  a  poor  singer  with  wonder- 
fully penetrating  tones,  almost  unequalled  in  this  respect. 
.  .  .  He  loved  Emersonian  poetry,  he  loved  the  Emer- 
sonian paradoxes,  he  valued  the  wild  ^olian  tones ;  he 
delighted  in  the  word  that  gave  the  prick  and  sting  of  the 
electric  spark ;  abruptness,  surprise,  the  sudden  forked 
sentence  —  these  took  him,  these  he  dealt  in." 

John  Burroughs, 

"  And,  in  truth,  one  of  the  legitimate  poets  Emerson,  in 
my  opinion,  is  not.  His  poetry  is  interesting,  it  rhakes 
one  think  j  but  it  is  not  the  poetry  of  one  of  the  born 


24  Emerson's  "  The  Rhodora'^ 

poets.  I  say  it  of  him  with  reluctance,  although  I  am 
sure  that  he  would  have  said  it  of  himself ;  but  I  say  it 
with  reluctance,  because  I  disHke  giving  pain  to  his 
admirers,  and  because  all  my  own  wish,  too,  is  to  say  of 
him  what  is  favorable.  But  I  regard  myself,  not  as  speak- 
ing to  please  Emerson's  admirers,  not  as  speaking  to 
please  myself ;  but  rather,  I  repeat,  as  communing  with 
Time  and  Nature  concerning  the  productions  of  this 
beautiful  and  rare  spirit,  and  as  resigning  what  of  him  is 
by  their  unalterable  decree  touched  with  caducity,  in 
order  the  better  to  mark  and  secure  that  in  him  which  is 
immortal."  Matthew  Arnold. 


A   BRIEF   OUTLINE    OF   WHITMAN'S 
'«0    CAPTAIN!    MY   CAPTAIN!" 

Author 

Walt  Whitman 

Born   1 819         Died  1892 

When  Written.     1865 

Kind  of  Lyric.     Lyric  of  Sorrow 

Prevailing  Foot.     Iambus 

Prevailing  Line.     Heptameter  (varied) 

Rime  Scheme,     aabbxcxc  {See  Style) 

Stanza.     Eight  Hnes 

First  Lines 

"  O  Captain  !  my  Captain  !  our  fearful  trip  is  done, 

The  ship  has  weather'd  every  rack,  the  prize  we  sought 

is  won." 

Central  Theme 

This  poem   is   an   exquisite  elegy  on   the   death   of 
President  Lincoln. 

Chief  Figure 

The  Civil  War  is  figured  as  a  boisterous  and  dangerous 

voyage  of  the  Ship  of  State,  —  the  Nation,  —  at  the  end 
of  which,  amid  the  exultation  of  the  people  crowding  the 
shores,  the  Captain  falls  dead  upon  the  deck. 

25 


26     Whitman'' s  "O  Captain!  My  Captain!" 

Conclusion 

A  note  of  exultation  over  the  successful  ending  of  the 
fearful  voyage  is  beautifully  mingled  with  the  poet's  sense 
of  personal  loss  in  the  death  of  his  Captain  —  President 
Lincoln. 

O  CAPTAIN!    MY   CAPTAIN! 

"  O  Captain  !  my  Captain  !  our  fearful  trip  is  done, 
The  ship  has  weather'd  every  rack,  the  prize  we  sought 

is  won. 
The  port  is  near,  the  bells  I  hear,  the  people  all  exulting. 
While  follow  eyes  the  steady  keel,  the  vessel  grim  and 
daring ; 

But  O  heart !  heart !  heart ! 

O  the  bleeding  drops  of  red. 
Where  on  the  deck  my  Captain  lies 
Fallen  cold  and  dead. 

"  O  Captain  !  my  Captain  !  rise  up  and  hear  the  bells ; 
Rise  up  —  for  you  the  flag  is  flung  —  for  you  the  bugle 

trills. 
For  you  bouquets  and  ribbon'd  wreaths  —  for  you  the 

shores  a-crowding. 
For  you  they  call,  the  swaying  mass,  their  eager  faces 
turning ; 

Here  Captain  !  dear  father  ! 

This  arm  beneath  your  head  ! 

It  is  some  dream  that  on  the  deck, 

You've  fallen  cold  and  dead. 


Whitman's  "O  Captain!  My  Captain!"     27 

"  My  Captain  does  not  answer,  his  lips  are  pale  and 'still, 
My  father  does  not  feel  my  arm,  he  has  no  pulse  nor 

will. 
The  ship  is  anchor'd  safe  and  sound,  its  voyage  closed 

and  done, 
From  fearful  trip  the  victor  ship  comes  in  with  object 
won; 

Exult,  O  shores  !  and  ring,  O  bells  ! 

But  I  with  mournful  tread, 
Walk  the  deck  my  Captain  lies, 
Fallen  cold  and  dead." 

Style 

In  this  poem  we  have  Whitman  at  (or  near)  his  highest 
point  as  a  lyric  poet.  Notwithstanding  its  odd  combi- 
nation of  good  rimes,  bad  rimes,  and  unrimed  lines,  it  is 
poetry  of  the  next  to  the  highest,  if  not  the  highest  qual- 
ity. Of  the  many  tributes  to  Lincoln,  it  best  interprets, 
in  my  opinion,  the  sense  of  personal  loss  and  the  deep 
sorrow  which  the  Northern  people  felt  on  account  of  his 
untimely  death,  mingled  with  their  pride  and  exultation 
over  his  work  so  well  done. 

In  its  simplicity  of  diction,  its  normal  sentence  forms, 
and  its  comparatively  regular  structure,  it  is  almost  unique 
among  his  poems. 

What  can  be  said  of  Whitman's  style  in  general  ?  To 
whisper  his  name  in  a  company  of  literary  persons  is  to 
set  going  an  endless  and  often  acrimonious  dispute.     To 


28     IVhit man's  "O  Captain!  My  Captain!'' 

one  class,  he  is  only  the  sickly  and  uncertain  afterglow 
of  the  sunset  of  American  poetry ;  to  another  class,  he  is 
the  luminous  and  invigorating  herald  of  the  dawn  of  a 
brighter,  better,  and  truer  age  of  democratic  American 
poetry.  To  the  one  party,  he  is  vulgar,  nauseating ;  to 
the  other,  he  is  sublime,  ennobling.  The  adverse  critics 
declare  that  he  wrote  a  formless  jargon  because  he  could 
not  master  form  ;  while  his  friends  assert  that  his  poetry 
is  too  great  to  be  run  into  any  of  the  wornout  molds  of 
effete  poetic  forms. 

When  doctors  disagree,  who  shall  decide  ?  In  the  case 
of  Whitman's  poetry,  each  may  do  so  for  himself.  Time 
alone  can  separate  the  precious  metal  from  the  dross,  and 
when  this  is  done,  it  seems  to  me  that  most  of  Whitman's 
poetry  will  perish  ;  that  a  small  residue  will  be  saved  and 
rank  high,  not  on  account  of  its  form  (or  formlessness), 
upon  which  he  prided  himself,  but  in  spite  of  it. 


A   BRIEF   OUTLINE    OF   HERBERT'S 
"VIRTUE" 

Author 

George  Herbert 

Born  1593         Died  1632 

When  Written.     1631  (Pub.) 

Kind  of  Lyric.     Lyric  of  Reflection  —  Religion 

Prevailing  Foot.     Iambus 

Prevailing  Line.     Tetrameter 

Rime  Scheme,     abab 

Stanza.     Quatrain  (fourth  line  Dimeter) 

Introduction  {First  Stanza) 

"  Sweet  day,  so  cool,  so  calm,  so  bright, 
The  bridal  of  the  earth  and  sky; 
The  dew  shall  weep  thy  fall  to-night ; 
For  thou  must  die." 

Central  Tlieme 

The  immortality  of  the  soul. 
29 


30  Herbert's  "Virtue'' 

Secondary  Theme 

The  mortality  of  all  earthly  things. 

VIRTUE 

"  Sweet  day,  so  cool,  so  calm,  so  bright, 
The  bridal  of  the  earth  and  sky ; 
The  dew  shall  weep  thy  fall  to-night ; 
For  thou  must  die. 

"  Sweet  rose,  whose  hue  angry  and  brave 
Bids  the  rash  gazer  wipe  his  eye ; 
Thy  root  is  ever  in  its  grave. 

And  thou  must  die. 

"  Sweet  spring,  full  of  sweet  days  and  roses, 
A  box  where  sweets  compacted  lie  ; 
My  music  shows  ye  have  your  closes, 
And  all  must  die. 

"  Only  a  sweet  and  virtuous  soul, 

Like  seasoned  timber,  never  gives ; 
But  though  the  whole  world  turn  to  coal, 
Then  chiefly  lives." 

Style 

"  His  style  was  that  of  his  time,  which  sought  ingenious 
conceits ;  but  he  expressed  no  thought  into  which  he  did 
not  pour  his  soul ;  therefore  his  work  lives  by  its  sincerity. 


Herbert's  "Virtue"  5I 

His  point  of  view  as  a  churchman  was  that  of  Laud,  his 
spirit  that  of  Christ ;  and  Christians  of  all  forms  of  thought 
have  through  songs  of  his  been  able  to  rise  heavenward 
on  wings  of  adoration.  When  the  mind  is  fastened  to 
George  Herbert's  verse  we  may  '  think  we've  an  angel  by 
the  wings,'  as  Crashaw  wrote  when  sending  to  a  friend  a 
volume  of  '  The  Temple.'  "  Henry  MorUy. 


A   BRIEF    OUTLINE    OF    ROBERT 
HERRICK'S    "DAFFADILLS" 

Author 

Robert  Herrick 

Born  1 5  9 1         Died  1 6  74 

.  When  Written.     1648  (Pub.) 

Classification.     Lyric  of  Reflection  —  Religion 

Prevailing  Foot.     Iambus 

Prevailing  Line.     (See  first  stanza) 

Rime  Scheme.     (See  first  stanza) 

Stanza.    Ten  lines 

First  Lines 

"Faire  Daffadills,  we  weep  to  see 
You  haste  away  so  soone  :" 

Central  Theme 
The  brevity  of  human  life. 

Chief  Figure 

"  For  all  flesh  is  as  grass,  and  all  the  glory  of  man  as 
the  flower  of  grass.  The  grass  withereth,  and  the  flower 
thereof  falleth  away."  i  Peter  i.  24. 

32 


Robert  Merrick's  "  Dafadills"  33 

TO   DAFFADILLSi 

Faire  Daffadills,  we  weep  to  see  a 
f  /  ^ 

You  haste  away  so  soone  :         b 

As  yet  the  early-rising  Sun  c 

Has  not  attain'd  his  Noone.  b 

Stay,  stay,  d 

Untill  the  hasting  day  d 

Has  run  c 

But  to  the  Even-song  ;  e 

And,  having  pray'd  together,  we  a 

Will  go  with  you  along.^  e 

We  have  short  time  to  stay,  as  you, 

We  have  as  short  a  Spring  ; 
As  quick  a  growth  to  meet  Decay, 
As  you  or  anything. 

We  die, 
As  your  hours  doe,  and  drie 

Away, 
Like  to  the  Summers  raine ; 
Or  as  the  pearles  of  Mornings  dew, 
Ne'r  to  be  found  againe. 

1  Original  spelling  retained, 

2  Note  complicated  stanza  structure  and  rime  scheme. 


34  Robert  Merrick's  "  Daffadills^^ 

Style 

"  But  the  subject  of  Herrick's  verse  never  matters  very 
much ;  it  is  the  exquisite  quality  of  his  phrase  and  his 
*  numbers '  that  exalt  him  to  a  place  all  his  own.  This 
quality  beggars  description,  and  is  perhaps  the  greatest 
justification  in  English  literature  of  the  '  theory  of  the 
single  word '  —  that  one  special  word  is  the  right  thing 
in  the  right  literary  place,  and  if  you  do  not  get  it  '  all's 
spent,  nought's  had.'  ...  In  all  his  famous  things, 
which  a  hundred  anthologies  have  made  known,  and  in 
others  less  divulged,  this  absolute  and  unerring  perfection 
of  word-selection  appears.  The  thoughts  are  sometimes 
trivial,  sometimes  not ;  but  the  expression  gives  them  at 
once  the  freshness  of  the  morning  dew  and  the  perennial 
character  of  marble.  Herrick's  images  are  not  as  a  rule 
out  of  the  way ;  his  mere  vocabulary  is,  for  his  time  and 
class,  quite  ordinary  for  the  most  part.  But  the  choice 
and  the  collocation  make  it  something  absolutely  unique." 

Saintsbury. 

Herbert  and  Herrick  belonged  to  what  is  known  as  the 
*'  metaphysical "  school  of  poets.  They  were  so  named 
because  of  their  liking  for  strange,  odd,  out-of-the-way 
conceits.  This  affected  not  only  the  ideas  they  expressed, 
but  also  the  forms  of  their  verse.  Their  Hking  for  the 
bizarre  went  so  far  that  they  constructed  stanzas  or  whole 
poems  which  when  printed  took  the  form  of  altars,  pairs 
of  wings,  and  other  fantastic  shapes.  These  are  found  in 
the  works  of  both  the  poets  named.     Such  "tricks"  are 


Robert  Merrick's  "  Dafadills"  35 

now  considered  blemishes,  not  beauties.  Notwithstanding 
this,  the  poets  of  this  school  produced  some  of  the  finest 
lyrics  to  be  found  in  all  English  literature. 

The  "  metaphysicals  "  were  contemporaries  of  Milton, 
who,  however,  was  never  affected  by  this  mania  for  poetic 
juggling.  In  the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth  century 
a  reaction  set  in  which  resulted  in  the  rise  of  the  "  classi- 
cal "  school  of  Dryden  and  Pope,  to  whom  the  tricks  of 
the  "  metaphysicals  "  were  an  abomination. 


A    BRIEF     OUTLINE     OF     LOWELL'S 
"THE   VISION    OF   SIR   LAUNFAL " 

Author 

James  Russell  Lowell 

Bom  1819         Died  1891 

When  Written.    1848 
Kind  of  Lyric.     Nature  Lyric 

Prevailing  Foot.     Iambus 

Prevailing  Line.     Tetrameter 

Rime  Scheme,     aabb,  etc.,  couplet  (varied) 

Stanza.     (Paragraphs) 

Introduction 
FIRST   PART 

1.  Comparison  of  organist  (composer)  to  poet. 

2.  Reference  to  Wordsworth's  Ode. 

3.  Long  lyric  description  of  June. 

SECOND   PART 

1.  Long  lyric  description  of  winter. 

2.  Description  of  Christmas. 

36 


LoweWs  "  The  yision  of  Sir  Launfal"       37 

Central  Theme 

"  That  is  no  true  alms  which  the  hand  can  hold ; 

He  gives  only  the  worthless  gold, 

Who  gives  from  a  sense  of  duty." 

******* 
"  Not  what  we  give,  but  what  we  share, 

The  gift  without  the  giver  is  bare ; 

Who  gives  himself  with  his  alms  feeds  three, 

Himself,  his  hungering  neighbor,  and  Me." 

The  Story  of  Sir  Launfal 

1.  His  vow. 

2.  His  dream. 

(i)  Setting  forth. 

(2)  Meeting  the  leper. 

(3)  Return  —  rejection. 

(4)  Second  meeting  with  leper. 

(5)  Leper's  transformation. 

(6)  Sir  Launfal's  change  of  character. 

Chief  Figure 

Nature's  moods  and  Sir  Launfal's  spiritual  condition 
compared. 

"  The  castle  gate  stands  open  now. 

And  the  wanderer  is  welcome  to  the  hall 
As  the  hangbird  is  to  the  elm-tree  bough ; 
No  longer  scowl  the  turrets  tall, 


38       Lowell's  "  The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal" 

The  Summer's  long  siege  at  last  is  o'er  ; 
When  the  first  poor  outcast  went  in  at  the  door, 
She  entered  with  him  in  disguise, 
And  mastered  the  fortress  by  surprise." 

Conclusion 

His  change  of  character. 

"The  castle  alone  in  the  landscape  lay 
Like  an  outpost  of  winter,  dull  and  gray  : 
'Twas  the  proudest  hall  in  the  North  Countree, 
And  never  its  gates  might  opened  be, 
Save  to  lord  or  lady  of  high  degree  ; 
Summer  besieged  it  on  every  side, 
But  the  churlish  stone  her  assaults  defied ; 
She  could  not  scale  the  chilly  wall" 

Quotations 

"  And  what  is  so  rare  as  a  day  in  June  ? 

Then,  if  ever,  come  perfect  days ; 
Then  heaven  tries  the  earth  if  it  be  in  tune, 

And  over  it  softly  her  warm  ear  lays  : 
Whether  we  look,  or  whether  we  listen. 
We  hear  Hfe  murmur,  or  see  it  glisten ; 
Every  clod  feels  a  stir  of  might, 

An  instinct  within  it  that  reaches  and  towers 
And  groping  blindly  above  it  for  light. 

Climbs  to  a  soul  in  grass  and  flowers ; 


Lowell's  "  The  yision  of  Sir  Launfar'       39 

The  flush  of  Hfe  may  well  be  seen 

Thrilling  back  over  hills  and  valleys ; 
The  cowslip  startles  in  meadows  green, 

The  buttercup  catches  the  sun  in  its  chalice, 
And  there's  never  a  leaf  or  a  blade  too  mean 

To  be  some  happy  creature's  palace ; 
The  little  bird  sits  at  his  door  in  the  sun, 

Atilt  like  a  blossom  among  the  leaves, 
And  lets  his  illumined  being  o'errun 

With  the  deluge  of  summer  it  receives  ; 
His  mate  feels  the  eggs  beneath  her  wings, 
And  the  heart  in  her  dumb  breast  flutters  and  sings ; 
He  sings  to  the  wide  world,  and  she  to  her  nest  — 
In  the  nice  ear  of  Nature,  which  song  is  the  best  ?  " 

"  He  sculptured  every  summer  delight 
In  his  halls  and  chambers  out  of  sight ; 
Sometimes  his  tinkling  waters  slipt 
Down  through  a  frost-leaved  forest-rry//, 
Long,  sparkling  ais/es  of  steel-stemmed  trees 
Bending  to  counterfeit  3.  breeze; 
Sometimes  the  roof  no  fretwork  knew 
But  silvery  mosses  that  downward  grew; 
Sometimes  it  was  carved  in  sharp  relief 
With  quaint  arabesques  of  ice-fern  leaf; 
Sometimes  it  was  simply  smooth  and  clear 
For  the  gladness  of  heaven  to  shine  through,  and  here 
He  had  caught  the  nodding  bulrush-tops 


40       Lowell's  "The  yision  of  Sir  Launfal" 

And  hung  them  thickly  with  diamond  drops, 
That  crystaled  the  beams  of  moon  and  sun, 
And  made  a  star  of  every  one  : 
No  mortal  bViilder's  most  rare  device 
Could  match  this  winter-palace  of  ice." 

Style 

"  The  charm  of  Lowell's  outdoor  verse  lies  in  its  spon- 
taneity ;  he  loves  nature  with  a  childlike  joy,  her  boon 
companion,  finding  even  in  her  illusions  welcome  and 
relief,  —  just  as  one  gives  himself  up  to  a  story  or  a  play, 
and  will  not  be  a  doubter." 

" '  The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal '  owed  its  success  quite  as 
much  to  its  presentation  of  nature  as  to  its  misty  legend. 
It  is  really  a  landscape  poem,  of  which  the  lovely  passage, 
'And  what  is  so  rare  as  a  day  in  June?'  and  the  wintry 
prelude  to  the  Part  Second,  are  the  specific  features.  .  .  . 
It  was  a  return  to  poetry  as  poetry."  Stedman. 

"  There  is  Lowell  who's  striving  Parnassus  to  climb  — 
With  a  whole  bale  of  isms  tied  together  with  rime  ; 
He  might  get  on  alone,  spite  of  brambles  and  boulders, 
But  he  can't  with  that  bundle  he  has  on  his  shoulders ; 
The  top  of  the  hill  he  will  ne'er  come  nigh  reaching 
Till  he  learns  the  distinction  'twixt  singing  and  preaching ; 
His  lyre  has  some  chords  that  ring  pretty  well, 
But  he'd  rather  by  half  make  a  drum  of  the  shell, 
And  rattle  away  till  he's  as  old  as  Methusalem, 
At  the  head  of  a  march  to  the  last  new  Jerusalem," 
From  "  The  Fable  for  Critics."  —  Lowell's  estimate  of  himself. 


A   BRIEF   OUTLINE   OF  WHITTIER'S 
"SNOW-BOUND" 

Author 

John  Greenleaf  Whittier 

Born  1807  Died  1892 

When  Written.     1866 

Kind  of  Lyric.     Pastoral  —  Picture  of  New  England  Farm 
Life  in  Winter 

Prevailing  Foot.     Iambus 

Prevailing  Line.     Tetrameter 

Rime  Scheme,     aabb  (couplets) 

Stanza.     Paragraphs 

Introduction 
The  omens  of  the  storm. 

Central  Theme,  and  Ethical  Lesson 

New  England  farm  life  in  winter  during  the  early  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Contentment  with  a  lowly  lot  and  fervent  faith  in  a  lov- 
ing God. 

41 


42  Whit  tier' s  "Snow-Bound'' 

The  Story 

It  was  a  December  evening ;  the  setting  sun  portended 
a  snowstorm.  The  evening  chores  were  done.  The  snow 
fell  all  night,  and  all  the  next  day  and  night.  The  sec- 
ond morning  presented  a  clear  sky  and  an  earth  of  snow. 
During  the  day  a  path  was  made  to  the  barn,  and  at 
night  the  family  gathered  around  the  bright  fireplace  and 
spent  the  evening  in  a  pleasant  and  social  manner.  Next 
the  author  describes  each  member  of  the  group  :  father, 
mother,  uncle,  aunt,  sister,  the  schoolmaster,  and  the 
missionary.  Miss  Harriet  Livermore.  At  nine  o'clock 
the  uncle  covered  the  coals  in  the  fireplace,  and  the 
mother  said  evening  prayers,  and  all  retired  and  were 
soon  in  dreamland.  The  next  morning  the  neighbors 
went  the  rounds  clearing  the  roads,  and  the  doctor  was 
able  to  make  his  calls.  A  week  passed  thus,  and  all  the 
books  in  the  house  were  read,  and  the  weekly  paper 
came,  telling  of  the  incidents  of  the  outside  world.  The 
snow  began  to  melt  away,  — 

"  And  all  the  world  was  ours  once  more." 

Quotations 

"  Yet  Love  will  dream  and  Faith  will  trust 
(Since  He  who  knows  our  need  is  just) 
That  somehow,  somewhere,  meet  we  must. 
Alas  for  him  who  never  sees 
The  stars  shine  through  his  cypress  trees  ! 


IVhit tier's  "Snow-Bound"  43 

Who  hopeless  lays  his  dead  away, 
Nor  looks  to  see  the  breaking  day 
Across  the  mournful  marbles  play  ! 
Who  hath  not  learned  in  hours  of  faith, 

The  truth  to  flesh  and  sense  unknown. 
That  Life  is  ever  lord  of  Death, 

And  Love  can  never  lose  its  own  ! " 


"  The  old  familiar  sights  of  ours 
Took  marvelous  shapes ;  strange  domes  and  towers 
Rose  up  where  sty  or  corncrib  stood, 
Or  garden  wall  or  belt  of  wood  ; 
A  smooth,  white  mound  the  brush  pile  showed ; 
A  fenceless  drift  what  once  was  road ; 
The  bridle  post,  an  old  man  sat 
With  loose- flung  coat  and  high  cocked  hat ; 
The  well  curb  had  a  Chinese  roof; 
And  even  the  long  sweep,  high  aloof, 
In  its  slant  splendor,  seemed  to  tell 
Of  Pisa's  leaning  miracle." 

Style 

The  keynote  of  Whittier's  style  in  this  poem  is  sim- 
plicity. His  description  is  strong,  graphic.  We  "  see  " 
what  he  wants  us  to  see  and  feel  as  he  means  we  shall 
feel  about  the  persons  described. 

His  diction  is  idiomatic,  except  in  a  few  places  where 


44  Whit  tier's  "  Snow- Bound" 

we  run  upon  a  number  of  Latin  words  in  a  few  lines 
(geometric,  pellicle). 

His  images  have  the  homely  directness  of  those  of 
Burns. 

"  From  the  key  struck  at  the  opening  to  the  tender 
fall  at  the  close,  there  is  a  sense  of  proportion,  an  ade- 
quacy, and  yet  a  restraint  not  always  observed  by 
Whittier."  Stedman. 

"  Point,  decoration,  and  other  features  of  modern  verse 
are  scarcely  characteristic  of  Whittier."  Stedman. 

Whittier  was  the  Burns  of  New  England,  and  "  Snow- 
Bound"  is  his  "Cotter's  Saturday  Night." 

"  It  is  the  most  faithful  picture  of  our  northern  winter 
that  has  yet  been  put  into  poetry."  John  Burroughs. 

" '  Snow-Bound '  seems  likely  to  remain  a  national 
classic."  Richardson. 


A   BRIEF   OUTLINE   OF   KIPLING'S 
"RECESSIONAL" 

Author 

Rudyard  Kipling 

Bom  \2>(it^         Living  (x^o^ 

When  Written.     1898 

Classification.     Reflective  —  Religious  ' 

Prevfiiling  Foot.    Iambus 

Prevailing  Line.     Tetrameter 

Rime  Scheme,     ababcc 

Stanza.     Six  lines 

First  Line 
"God  of  our  fathers,  known  of  old." 

Central  Theme 
A  prayer  for  national  humility. 

Secondary  Theme 

The  mutability  of  human  affairs. 
45 


46  Kipling's  "Recessional" 

RECESSIONAL 

"  God  of  our  fathers,  known  of  old  — 

Lord  of  our  far-flung  battle  line  — 

Beneath  whose  awful  hand  we  hold 

Dominion  over  palm  and  pine  — 

Lord  God  of  Hosts,  be  with  us  yet, 

Lest  we  forget  —  lest  we  forget. 

"  The  tumult  and  the  shouting  dies  — 
The  Captains  and  the  Kings  depart  — 
Still  stands  Thine  ancient  sacrifice, 
An  humble  and  a  contrite  heart. 
Lord  God  of  Hosts,  be  with  us  yet. 
Lest  we  forget  —  lest  we  forget. 

"  Far-called  our  navies  melt  away  — 

On  dune  and  headland  sinks  the  fire  — 
Lo  !  all  our  pomp  of  yesterday 

Is  one  with  Nineveh  and  Tyre. 
Lord  God  of  Hosts,  be  with  us  yet, 
Lest  we  forget  —  lest  we  forget. 

"  If,  drunk  with  sight  of  power,  we  loose 
Wild  tongues  that  have  not  Thee  in  awe, 
Such  boastings  as  the  Gentiles  use 
Or  lesser  breeds  without  the  law, 
Lord  God  of  Hosts,  be  with  us  yet, 
Lest  we  forget  —  lest  we  forget. 


Kipling' s  ' '  Recessional "  47 

"  For  heathen  heart  that  puts  her  trust 

In  reeking  tube  and  iron  shard 

All  valiant  dust  that  builds  on  dust, 

And  guarding  calls  not  Thee  to  guard, 
For  frantic  boast  and  foolish  word, 
Thy  mercy  on  Thy  people,  Lord, 

Amen." 
Style 
What  shall  be  said  about  Mr.  Kipling's  style?  The 
professional  critics  are  at  odds  about  it  and  probably  will 
continue  to  be  at  odds  about  it  for  years  to  come.  To 
one,  he  ranks  as  a  poet,  high  in  the  next  to  the  highest 
class ;  to  another,  he  is  but  a  wretched  poetaster  whose 
vogue  will  pass  as  a  fog  before  the  breath  of  the  west 
wind. 

Two  things  at  least  he  has  known  how  to  do  :  to  write 
verses  that  the  common  people  will  read  and  enjoy,  and 
to  write  measures  which  insist  on  singing  themselves. 
Most  of  his  verses  go  to  some  old-time  lilt  which  no  man 
invented,  but  which  all  men  always  knew.  These  two 
things  go  far  to  account  for  his  popularity.  But  his 
popularity  is  based  partly  upon  another  significant  fact : 
his  poetry  is,  for  the  most  part,  merely  versified  narrative. 
This  is  at  once  the  most  popular  form  of  verse  and  the 
most  enduring.  Homer  and  Virgil  live,  Chaucer  and  Dante 
endure,  through  the  ages  partly  because  they  each  had  a 
story  to  tell.  Many  worthy  modern  poems  sink  out  of 
sight  like  rivulets  in  Saharan  sands,  because  they  are  but 


48  Kipling's  "Recessionary 

versified  abstrusities.  For  these  reasons  it  is  likely  that 
some  portions  of  Kipling's  verse  will  last  far  beyond  the 
time  when  much  modern  verse  to  which  critics  give  more 
praise  shall  have  faded  into  the  Umbo  of  forgetfulness. 

In  the  piece  here  given,  Mr.  Kipling  has  discarded 
narrative  and  set  his  powers  to  another  species  of  poetry 
which  lasts  —  the  religious  song.  "Recessional"  ex- 
hibits his  powers  in  nearly  or  quite  the  highest  reach  he 
has  yet  attained.  The  whole  poem  expresses  elevation 
and  breadth  of  thought  combined  with  skillful  handling 
of  words.  In  it  there  is  force  with  no  sense  of  strain. 
In  like  manner,  it  shows  his  power  of  making  words  sug- 
gest music  —  the  solemn  peal  of  the  church  organ.  Alto- 
gether, it  will  probably  prove  to  be  the  greatest  hymn 
which  has  been  composed  in  our  time. 


A    BRIEF    OUTLINE    OF    MILTON'S 
"L'ALLEGRO  "    AND   "  IL  PENSEROSO " 

Author 

John  Milton 

Born  1608         Died  1674 

When .  Written.     1 632  ( ?) 
Kind  of  Lyric.     Lyrics  of  Reflection 
Prevailing  Foot.     Iambus  (varied) 
Prevailing  Line.     Tetrameter. 
Rime  Scheme,     aabb  (varied) 
Stanza.     None  (paragraphs) 

Introduction 

"L' Allegro" — The  banishment  of  Melancholy  and  the 
summons  to  Mirth. 

"  II  Penseroso  "  —  The  banishment  of  Mirth  and  the 
summons  to  Melancholy. 

Central  Theme 

"L' Allegro" — The  joys  of  social  intercourse. 
"II   Penseroso"  —  The    pleasures   of   contemplation, 
reflection,  and  study. 

49 


50  Milton's  "V Allegro'' 


L'ALLEGRO  Analysis. 

Hence,  loathed  Melancholy,  The  Poet 

Of   Cerberus^   and   blackest  Midnight  MeScLiy 

born, 
In  Stygian  cave  forlorn, 
'Mongst  horrid  shapes;  and  shrieks,  and 

sights  unholy  ! 
5     Find  out  some  uncouth  cell 
Where   brooding    Darkness    spreads    his 

jealous  wings. 
And  the  night-raven  sings  ; 
There,  under  ebon  shades,  and  low-browed 

rocks, 
As  ragged  as  thy  locks, 
10     In  dark  Cimmerian  desert  ever  dwell. 

1  The  italicized  words  are  those  which  will  need  particular  attention 
on  the  part  of  the  student. 


Milton's  "II  Penseroso"  51 


IL    PENSEROSO  Analysis. 

Hence,  vain  deluding  joys,  The  Poet 

The  brood  of  folly  without  father  bred  !   ^/f'!^^^ . 

■'  deluding  joys 

How  little  you  bestead, 

Or  fill  the  fixed  mind  with  all  your  toys  ! 
5     Dwell  in  some  idle  brain. 

And  fancies  fond  with  gaudy  shapes  possess, 

As  thick  and  numberless 

As  the  gay  motes  that  people  the  sunbeams. 

Or  likest  hovering  dreams, 
[o     The  fickle  pensioners  of  Morpheus'  train, 


52  Milton's  "U Allegro" 


But  come,  thou  goddess  fair  and  free,  and  summons 

In  heaven  yclept  Euphrosyne, 

And,  by  men,  heart-easing  Mirth, 

Whom  lovely  Venus,  at  a  birth, 
15  With  two  sister  Graces  more 

To  ivy-crowned  Bacchus  bore ; 

Or  whether,  as  some  sages  sing, 

The  frolic  wind  that  breathes  the  spring. 

Zephyr,  with  Aurora  playing, 
20  As  he  met  her  once  a-Maying, 

There,  on  beds  of  violets  blue, 

And  fresh-blown  roses  washed  in  dew, 

Filled  her  with  thee,  a  daughter  fair, 

So  buxom,  bUthe,  and  debonair. 


Milton's  "II  Penseroso"  53 

But  hail,  thou  goddess,  sage  and  holy, 

Hail,  divinest  Melancholy  !  and  summons 

Whose  saintly  visage  is  too  bright  "^  ^"'^  °  ^ 

To  hit  the  sense  of  mortal  sight ; 
15  And  therefore,  to  our  weaker  view, 

O'erlaid  with  black,  staid  Wisdom's  hue ; 

Black,  but  such  as  in  esteem 

Prince  Memnon's  sister  might  beseem, 

Or  that  starred  Ethiop  Queen  that  strove 
20 To  set  her  beauty's  praise  above 

The  sea-nymphs,  and  their  powers  offended; 

Yet  thou  art  higher  far  descended ; 

Thee  bright-haired  Vesta  long  of  yore 

To  solitary  Saturn  bore  ; 
25  His  daughter  she  (in  Saturn's  reign. 

Such  mixture  was  not  held  a  stain). 

Oft  in  glimmering  bowers  and  glades 

He  met  her,  and  in  secret  shades 

Of  woody  Ida's  inmost  grove, 
30  While  yet  there  was  no  fear  oi  Jove. 

Come,  pensive  nun,  devout  and  pure, 

Sober,  steadfast,  and  demure. 

All  in  a  robe  of  darkest  grain, 

Flowing  with  majestic  train, 
35  And  sable  stole  of  Cyprus  lawn 

Over  thy  decent  shoulders  drawn. 


54 


Milton's  "U Allegro'' 


25  Haste  thee,  nymph,  and  bring  with  thee 
Jest,  and  youthful  Jollity, 
Quips,  and  cranks  and  wanton  wiles. 
Nods,  and  becks,  and  wreathed  smiles, 
Such  as  hang  on  Hebe's  cheek, 

30 And  love  to  live  in  dimple  sleek; 
Sport,  that  wrinkled  Care  derides, 
And  Laughter,  holding  both  his  sides. 
Come,  and  trip  it  as  you  go 
On  the  light  fantastic  toe ; 

35  And  in  thy  right  hand  lead  with  thee 
The  mountain-nymph,  sweet  Liberty; 
And  if  I  give  thee  honor  due, 
Mirth,  admit  me  of  thy  crew. 
To  live  with  her,  and  live  with  thee 

40  In  unreproved  pleasures  free  ; 


with  her  train: 
Jest  and 
Jollity, 


Laughter  and 


Liberty. 


Milton's  "II  Penseroso"  55 

Come,  but  keep  thy  wonted  state, 
With  even  pace,  and  musing  gait, 
And  looks  commercing  with  the  skies, 
4° Thy  rapt  soul  sitting  in  thine  eyes; 
There  held  in  holy  passion  still, 
Forget  thyself  to  marble,  till 
With  a  sad,  leaden,  downward  cast, 
Thou  fix  them  on  the  earth  as  fast. 

45  And  join  with  thee,  calm  Peace,  and  Quiet,   with  her  train: 
Spare  Fast,  that  oft  with  gods  doth  diet,      q^^^^^' 
And  hears  the  Muses  in  a  ring  Leisure,  Con- 

Aye  round  about  Jove's  altar  sing  :  Ind^suence. 

And  add  to  these  retired  Leisure, 

50 That  in  trim  gardens  takes  his  pleasure  :  — 
But  first,  and  chiefest,  with  thee  bring 
Him  that  yon  soars  on  golden  wing. 
Guiding  the  fiery-wheeled  throne. 
The  cherub  Contemplation ; 

55  And  the  mute  Silence  hist  along. 


56  Milton's  "U Allegro'' 


To  hear  the  lark  begin  his  flight, 
And  singing,  startle  the  dull  Night, 
From  his  watch-tower  in  the  skies, 
Till  the  dappled  dawn  doth  rise ;  He  extols 

45  Then  to  come,  in  spite  of  Sorrow, 
And  at  my  window  bid  good-raorrow 
Through  the  sweet-brier,  or  the  vine, 
Or  the  twisted  eglantine  : 


the  lark 


Milton's  "II  Penseroso"  57 


'Less  Philomel  will  deign  a  song  He  praises  the 

In  her  sweetest,  saddest  plight, 
Smoothing  the  rugged  brow  of  Night, 
While  Cynthia  checks  her  dragon  yoke 
60 Gently  o'er  the  accustom'' d  oak. 
—  Sweet  bird,  that  shunn'st  the  noise  of 

folly. 
Most  musical,  most  melancholy  ! 
Thee,  chauntress,  oft,  the  woods  among 
I  woo,  to  hear  thy  even-song ; 


58 


Milton's  " L: Allegro'' 


While  the  cock,  with  lively  din, 

50  Scatters  the  rear  of  darkness  thin, 
And  to  the  stack  or  the  barn  door, 
Stoutly  struts  his  dames  before  ; 
Oft  listening  how  the  hounds  and  horn 
Cheerily  rouse  the  slumbering  Morn 

55  From  the  side  of  some  hoar  hill, 
Through  the  high  wood  echoing  shrill, 
Sometime  walking,  not  unseen. 
By  hedgerow  elms,  or  hillocks  green, 
Right  against  the  eastern  gate 

60  Where  the  great  Sun  begins  his  state, 
Robed  in  flames  and  amber  light. 
The  clouds  in  thousand  liveries  dight, 
Whilst  the  plowman,  near  at  hand. 
Whistles  o'er  the  furrowed  land, 

65  And  the  milkmaid  singeth  blithe. 
And  the  mower  whets  his  scythe, 
And  every  shepherd  tells  his  tale 
Under  the  hawthorn  in  the  dale. 


and  the 
various  other 
beauties  of  a 
summer  morn- 
ing in  the 
country, 
especially. 


the  glory  of 
the  rising  sun, 


Milton's  "II  Penseroso 


59 


6s  And  missing  thee,  I  walk  unseen 
On  the  dry,  smooth-shaven  green, 
To  behold  the  wandering  Moon 
Riding  near  her  highest  noon, 
Like  one  that  had  been  led  astray 

70 Through  the  heaven's  wide  pathless  way 
And  oft,  as  if  her  head  she  bow'd. 
Stooping  through  a  fleecy  cloud. 
Oft,  on  a  plat  of  rising  ground 
I  hear  the  far-off  curfew  sound 

75  Over  some  wide-water'd  shore. 
Swinging  slow  with  sullen  roar : 
Or,  if  the  air  will  not  permit, 
Some  still  removed  place  will  fit 
Where  glowing  embers  through  the  room 

80 Teach  light  to  counterfeit  a  gloom ; 
Far  from  all  resort  of  mirth. 
Save  the  cricket  on  the  hearth, 
Or  the  bellman's  drowsy  charm 
To  bless  the  doors  from  nightly  harm. 


and  the 

wandering 

Moon 


and  the  beauti- 
ful sights  and 
sounds  of 
evening. 


60 


Milton's  "U Allegro'' 


Straight    mine     eye    hath     caught    new 
pleasures, 

70  Whilst  the  landscape  round  it  measures 
Russet  lawns  and  fallows  gray, 
Where  the  nibbling  flocks  do  stray, 
Mountains,  on  whose  barren  breast 
The  laboring  clouds  do  often  rest ; 

75  Meadows  trim  with  daisies  pied, 
Shallow  brooks,  and  rivers  wide ; 

Towers  and  battlements  it  sees 
Bosom 'd  high  in  tufted  trees. 
Where  perhaps  some  Beauty  Hes, 
80 The  Cynosure  of  neighboring  eyes. 

Hard  by,  a  cottage  chimney  smokes 

From  betwixt  two  aged  oaks, 

Where  Corydon  and  Thyrsis,  met. 

Are  at  their  savory  dinner  set 
85  Of  herbs  and  other  country  messes 

Which  the  neat-handed  Phillis  dresses ; 

And  then  in  haste  her  bower  she  leaves 

With  Thestylis  to  bind  the  sheaves ; 

Or,  if  the  earlier  season  lead, 
90 To  the  tann'd  haycock  in  the  mead. 


and  describes 
the  natural  de- 
lights of  the 
rural  land- 
scape as 
revealed  by 
the  sun. 


In  this  land- 
scape a  castle 
is  set ; 


also  a  cottage. 


(Noon) 


Milton's  "II  Penseroso'' 


61 


85     Or  let  my  lamp  at  midnight  hour 
Be  seen  in  some  high  lonely  tower, 
Where  I  may  oft  out-watch  the  Bear 
With  thrice  great  Hermes,  or  unsphere 
The  spirit  of  Plato,  to  unfold 

90  What  worlds  or  what  vast  regions  hold 
The  immortal  mind,  that  hath  forsook 
Her  mansion  in  this  fleshy  nook  : 
And  of  those  demons  that  are  found 
In  fire,  air,  flood,  or  under  ground, 

95  Whose  power  hath  a  true  consent 
With  planet  or  with  element. 


He  lauds  the 
pleasures  of 
midnight 
study,  espe- 
cially of  Phi- 
losophy and 
Tragedy, 


(Midnight) 


62  Milton's  "U Allegro'' 


Sometimes  with  secure  delight 
The  upland  hamlets  will  invite, 
When  the  merry  bells  ring  round,  He  then 

,       ,     ,       .  Ill  1  describes  a 

And  the  jocund  rebecks  sound  ^urai  merry- 

95  To  many  a  youth  and  many  a  maid,  making; 
Dancing  in  the  checker'd  shade  ; 

And  young  and  old  come  forth  to  play  the  rustic 

On  a  sunshine  holy-day.  ^^""^ 
Till  the  livelong  daylight  fail : 


Milton's  "  II  Penseroso"  6? 


Sometimes  let  gorgeous  Tragedy 
In,  scepter'd  pall  come  sweeping  by, 
Presenting  Thebes'  or  Pelops'  line, 
looOr  the  tale  of  Troy  divine ; 

Or  what  (though  rare)  of  later  age 
Ennobled  hath  the  buskin'd  stage. 

But,  oh  sad  virgin,  that  thy  power  and  the  power 

Might  raise  Musceus  from  his  bower  !  of  solemn 

'-'  _  Music. 

105  Or  bid  the  soul  of  Orpheus  sing 

Such  notes  as,  warbled  to  the  string, 

Drew  iron  tears  down  Pluto's  cheek. 

And  made  hell  grant  what  love  did  seek  ! 

Or  call  up  him  that  left  half-told 
iioThe  story  of  Cambuscan  bold. 

Of  Cajtiball,  and  of  Algarsi/e, 

And  who  had  Canace  to  wife, 

That  own'd  the  virtuous  ring  and  glass  j 

And  of  the  wondrous  horse  of  brass, 
115  On  which  the  Tartar  king  did  ride  : 

And  if  aught  else  great  bards  beside 

In  sage  and  solemn  tunes  have  sung. 

Of  tourneys  and  of  trophies  hung. 

Of  forests,  and  enchantments  drear, 
i2oWhere  more  is  meant  than  meets  the  ear. 


64  Milton's  "L Allegro" 


100 Then  to  the  spicy  nut-brown  ale, 

With  stories  told  of  many  a  feat, 

How  fairy  Mab  the  junkets  eat ; 

She  was  pinch'd  and  pull'd,  she  said ; 

And  he,  by  friar's  lantern  led  ; 
105  Tells  how  the  drudging  Goblin  sweat 

To  earn  his  cream-bowl  duly  set, 

When  in  one  night,  ere  glimpse  of  morn,     and  evening 

His  shadowy  flail  hath  thresh'd  the  corn 

That  ten  day-laborers  could  not  end  ; 
iioThen  lies  him  down  the  lubber  fiend, 

And,  stretch'd  out  all  the  chimney's  length, 

Basks  at  the  fire  his  hairy  strength ; 

And  crop- full  out  of  doors  he  flings. 

Ere  the  first  cock  his  matin  rings. 
115     Thus  done  the  tales,  to  bed  they  creep, 

By  whispering  winds  soon  lulled  asleep. 


stones. 


Milton's  "II  Penseroso"  .       65 


Thus,  Night,  oft  see  me  in  my  pale  career,   He  speaks  of 
Till  civil-suited  Morn  appear  civii-suited 

^  ^  morning 

Not  trick'd  and  frounced  as  she  was  wont 

With  the  Affy'c  Boy  to  hunt, 
125  But  kercheft  in  a  comely  cloud 

While  rocking  winds  are  piping  loud, 

Or  usher'd  with  a  shower  still, 

When  the  gust  hath  blown  his  fill, 

Ending  on  the  rusthng  leaves 
130  With  minute-drops  from  off  the  eaves. 


66 


Milton's  "L Allegro 


Tower'd  cities  please  us  then, 
And  the  busy  hum  of  men, 
Where  throngs  of  knights  and  barons  bold 

120  In  weeds  of  peace  high  triumphs  hold, 
With  store  of  ladies,  whose  bright  eyes 
Rain  influence,  and  judge  the  prize 
Of  wit  or  arms,  while  both  contend 
To  win  her  grace,  whom  all  commend. 

125  There  let  Hymen  oft  appear 
In  saffron  robe,  with  taper  clear. 
And  pomp,  and  feast,  and  revelry, 
With  mask,  and  antique  pageantry, 
Such  sights  as  youthful  poets  dream 

130  On  summer  eves  by  haunted  stream. 
Then  to  the  well- trod  stage  anon, 
If  Jonson's  learned  sock  be  on, 
Or  sweetest  Shakespeare,  Fancy's  child. 
Warble  his  native  wood-notes  wild. 


He  next 
describes  the 
pleasures. 


pageants,  and 


social  gather- 
ings of  the 
town. 
(Midnight) 


Milton's  "II  Penseroso" 


67 


And  when  the  sun  begins  to  fling 
His  flaring  beams,  me,  Goddess,  bring 
To  arched  walks  of  twilight  groves, 
And  shadows  brown,  that  Sylvan  loves, 

135  Of  pine  or  monumental  oak, 

Where  the  rude  axe,  with  heaved  stroke, 
Was  never  heard  the  nymphs  to  daunt 
Or  fright  them  from  their  hallow'd  haunt. 
There  in  close  covert  by  some  brook 

140  Where  no  profaner  eye  may  look, 
Hide  me  from  day's  garish  eye. 
While  the  bee  with  honey'd  thigh 
That  at  her  flowery  work  doth  sing. 
And  the  waters  murmuring, 

145  With  such  concert  as  they  keep, 
Entice  the  dewy-feathered  Sleep  ; 
And  let  some  strange  mysterious  dream 
Wave  at  his  wings  in  airy  stream 
Of  Hvely  portraiture  display'd, 

iSoSoftly  on  my  eyelids  laid : 


and  the  sober 
pleasure  of  a 
quiet  walk 
along  wood- 
land paths,  and 
of  Sleep  in  a 
quiet  shady- 
nook 


(Midday) 


68 


Milton's  ' '  L Allegro  " 


135     And  ever  against  eating  cares 
Lap  me  in  soft  Lydiati  airs 
Married  to  immortal  verse, 
Such  as  the  meeting  soul  may  pierce 
In  notes,  with  many  a  winding  bout 

140 Of  linked  sweetness  long  drawn  out; 
With  wanton  heed  and  giddy  cunning 
The  melting  voice  through  mazes  running, 
Untwisting  all  the  chains  that  tie 
The  hidden  soul  of  harmony ; 

145  That  Orpheus^  self  may  heave  his  head 
From  golden  slumber  on  a  bed 
Of  heaped  Elysian  flowers,  and  hear 
Such  strains  as  would  have  won  the  ear 
Of  Pluto,  to  have  quite  set  free 

150  His  half- regained  Eurydice. 

These  delights  if  thou  canst  give, 
Mirth,  with  thee  I  mean  to  live. 


Through  all  he 
asks  that  the 


charms  of 
music  may 
unlock  the 


secret  harmo- 
nies of  his  soul. 


For  all  these 
boons  he 
promises 
allegiance 
to  Mirth. 


Milton's  "II  Penseroso" 


69 


And,  as  I  wake,  sweet  music  breathe 
Above,  about,  or  underneath. 
Sent  by  some  spirit  to  mortals  good, 
Or  the  unseen  Genius  of  the  wood. 

155      But  let  my  due  feet  never  fail 
To  walk  the  studious  cloister's  pale, 
And  love  the  high-embowed  roof, 
With  antique  pillars  massy  proof, 
And  storied  windows  richly  dight, 

160 Casting  a  dim,  religious  light. 
There  let  the  pealing  organ  blow, 
To  the  full-voiced  choir  below. 
In  service  high  and  anthems  clear, 
As  may  with  sweetness  through  mine  ear 

165  Dissolve  me  into  ecstasies, 

And  bring  all  heaven  before  mine  eyes  : 


from  which  he 
is  wakened  by 
sweet  music 
and  seeks  some 
grand  cathe- 
dral and  joins 
in  the  service. 


And  may  at  last  my  weary  age 
Find  out  the  peaceful  hermitage, 
The  hairy  gown  and  mossy  cell 
170  Where  I  may  sit  and  rightly  spell 
Of  every  star  that  heaven  doth  shew, 
And  every  herb  that  sips  the  dew; 
Till  old  experience  doth  attain 
To  something  like  prophetic  strain. 

175 These  pleasures,  Melancholy,  give, 
And  I  with  thee  will  choose  to  live. 


He  bespeaks 
a  peaceful 
hermitage  in 
which  to  spend 
his  last  days. 


For  all  this  he 
promises 
allegiance  to 
Melancholy. 


70  " U Allegro"  and  "II  Penseroso" 

Style 

"We  often  hear  of  the  magical  influence  of  poetry. 
The  expression  in  general  means  nothing ;  but,  applied  to 
the  writings  of  Milton,  it  is  most  appropriate.  His  poetry 
acts  like  an  incantation.  Its  merit  lies  less  in  its  obvious 
meaning  than  in  its  occult  power.  There  would  seem,  at 
first  sight,  to  be  no  more  in  his  words  than  in  other  words. 
But  they  are  words  of  enchantment.  No  sooner  are  they 
pronounced,  than  the  past  is  present  and  the  distant  near. 
New  forms  of  beauty  start  at  once  into  existence,  and 
all  the  burial  places  of  the  memory  give  up  their  dead. 
Change  the  structure  of  the  sentence,  substitute  one  syno- 
nym for  another,  and  the  whole  effect  is  destroyed.  The 
spell  loses  its  power ;  and  he  who  should  then  hope  to 
conjure  with  it  would  find  himself  as  much  mistaken  as 
Cassin  in  the  Arabian  tale,  when  he  stood  crying,  '  Open 
Wheat,'  'Open  Barley,'  to  the  door  which  obeyed  no  sound 
but  '  Open  Sesame.'  The  miserable  failure  of  Dryden  in 
his  attempt  to  translate  into  his  own  diction  some  parts 
of  the  '  Paradise  Lost '  is  a  remarkable  instance  of  this. " 

"  In  none  of  the  works  of  Milton  is  his  peculiar  manner 
more  happily  displayed  than  in  the  '  Allegro '  and  the 
*  Penseroso.'  It  is  impossible  to  conceive  that  the 
mechanism  of  language  can  be  brought  to  a  more 
exquisite  degree  of  perfection.  These  poems  differ  from 
others  as  attar  of  roses  differs  from  ordinary  rose  water, 
the  close -packed  essence  from  the  thin,  diluted  mixture. 


" L' Allegro"  and  "II  Penseroso"  71 

They  are  indeed  not  so  much  poems  as  collections  of 
hints,  from  each  of  which  the  reader  is  to  make  out  a 
poem  for  himself.     Every  epithet  is  a  text  for  a  stanza." 

Macaulay. 

"  An  appreciation  of  Milton  is  the  last  reward  of  con- 
summated scholarship."  Mark  PaUison. 

"  Milton's  more  elaborate  passages  have  the  multitu- 
dinous roll  of  thunder,  dying  away  to  gather  a  sullen  force 
again  from  its  own  reverberations,  but  he  knew  that  the 
attention  is  recalled  and  arrested  by  those  claps  that  stop 
short  without  echo  and  leave  us  listening.  There  are  no 
such  vistas  and  avenues  of  verse  as  his.  In  reading  him 
one  has  a  feeling  of  spaciousness  such  as  no  other  poet 
gives.  Milton's  respect  for  himself  and  for  his  own  mind 
and  its  movement  rises  well-nigh  to  veneration.  He  pre- 
pares the  way  for  his  thought  and  spreads  on  the  ground 
before  the  sacred  feet  of  his  verse  tapestries  inwoven  with 
figures  of  mythology  and  romance.  There  is  no  such 
unfailing  dignity  as  his."  Lowell. 

"  Nor  second  He,  that  rode  sublime 
Upon  the  seraph-wings  of  Ecstasy, 
The  secrets  of  th'  Abyss  to  spy. 

He  pass'd  the  flaming  bounds  of  Place  and  Time : 
The  living  Throne,  the  sapphire-blaze. 
Where  Angels  tremble  while  they  gaze, 
He  saw  ;  but  blasted  with  excess  of  light, 
Closed  his  eyes  in  endless  night."  Gray. 


A   BRIEF   OUTLINE   OF   MILTON'S 
"LYCIDAS" 

Author 

John  Milton 

Bom  1608         Died  iS*]^ 

When  Written.     1637 

Classification.     Monody  —  Elegy 

Prevailing  Foot.     Iambus  (varied) 

Prevailing  Line.     Pentameter  (varied) 

Rime  Scheme.     (Exceedingly  varied) 

Stanza.     (Paragraphs) 

Introduction 
The  Prologue  (see  Analysis) 

Central  Theme 
An  elegy  on  the  untimely  death  of  Edward  King,  who 
was  drowned  in  the  Irish  Seas  in  1637. 

Secondary  Themes 

The  reward  of  the  true  poet. 

A  denunciation  of  the  corruption  of  clergy  and  the 
church. 

72 


Milton's  "  Lycidas" 


73 


LYCIDAS 1 


Analysis 


Occasion. 


Yet  once  more,  O  ye  Laurels,  and  once   i.  Prologue. 

more, 
Ye  Myrtles  brown,  with  Ivy  never  sear, 
I  com  to  pluck  your  berries  harsh  and 

crude. 
And  with  forc'd  fingers  rude 
5  Shatter  your  leaves  before  the  mellowing 

year. 
Bitter  constraint  and  sad  occasion  dear 
Compels  me  to  disturb  your  season  due ; 
For  Lycidas  is  dead,  dead  ere  his  prime, 
Young  Lycidas,  and  hath  not  left  his  peer. 
10 Who  would  not  sing  for  Lycidas?  he  knew 
Himself  to  sing,  and  build  the  lofty  rhyme. 
He  must  not  flote  upon  his  watry  bear 
Unwept,  and  welter  to  the  parching  wind, 
Without  the  meed  of  som  melodious  tear. 


15     Begin,  then.  Sisters  of  the  Sacred  Well 
That  from  beneath  the  seat  of  Jove  doth 

spring. 
Begin,   and    somwhat    loudly   sweep   the   2.  invocation 

string.  of  the  Muses. 

Hence  with  denial  vain  and  coy  excuse : 
So  may  som  gentle  Muse 

1  Original  spelling  retained. 


74  Milton's  "  Lycidas" 

20  With  lucky  words  favour  my  destin'd  urn, 
And,  as  he  passes,  turn. 
And  bid  fair  peace  be  to  my  sable  shrowd  ! 

For  we  were  nurst  upon  the  self-same  hill, 
Fed  the  same  flock,  by  fountain,  shade, 

and  rill ; 
25  Together  both,  ere  the  high  lawns  appear'd 
Under  the  opening  eyelids  of  the  Morn, 
We  drove  a  field,  and  both  together  heard   3-  Reasons  for 
What  time  the  gray-fly  winds  her  sultry 

horn, 
Batt'ning  our  flocks  with  the  fresh  dews     - 

of  night, 
30  Oft  till  the  star  that  rose  at  ev'ning  bright 
Towards  Heav'n's  descent  had  slop'd  his 

westering  wheel. 
Meanwhile  the  rural  ditties  were  not  mute, 
Temper'd  to  the  oaten  flute. 
Rough    Satyrs    danc'd,   and   Fauns   with 

clov'n  heel 
35  From  the  glad  sound  would  not  be  absent 

long; 
And  old  Damsetas  lov'd  to  hear  our  song. 


But,  O   the   heavy  change,  now   thou  11.  The  Body 

.  of  the  Poem. 

art  gon. 
Now  thou  art  gon,  and  never  must  return  ! 


Milton's  "  Lycidas"  75 

Thee,  Shepherd,  thee  the  woods  and  desert  i.  ah  Nature 

joins  the  poet 

caves, 
40 With  wilde  thyme  and  the  gadding  vine 

o'regrown, 
And  all  their  echoes  mourn. 

The  willows,  and  the  hazel  copses  green,      in  mourning 
Shall  now  no  more  be  seen  1^^  '°'^  °*" 

Lycidas. 

Fanning   their  joyous  leaves  to  thy  soft 

layes. 
45  As  killing  as  the  canker  to  the  rose. 
Or  taint-worm  to  the  weanling  herds  that 

graze, 
Or  frost  to  flowers,  that  their  gay  wardrop 

wear 
When  first  the  white  thorn  blows ; 
Such,  Lycidas,  thy  loss  to  shepherd's  ear. 

50     Where  were  ye.  Nymphs,  when  the  re- 
morseless deep 
Clos'd  o're  the  head  of  your  lov'd  Lycidas? 
For  neither  were  ye  playing  on  the  steep      2   His  death 

.  ,  was  unavoid- 

Where  your  old  bards,  the  famous  Druids,  ly,   able. 
Nor  on  the  shaggy  top  of  Mona  high.  Neither  the 

55  Nor  yet  where  Deva  spreads  her  wisard   ^y'"?*^^ 

stream. 
Ay  me  !  I  fondly  dream 
"  Had  ye  bin  there  "...  for  what  could 

that  have  don? 


76  Milton's  "  Lycidas" 

What  could  the  Muse  her  self  that  Orpheus  nor  the  Mu»e 

,  herself  could 

bore,  have 

The  Muse  her  self,  for  her  inchanting  son, 
60  Whom  universal  Nature  did  lament,  saved  him. 

When,  by  the  rout  that  made  the  hideous 

roar, 
His  goary  visage  down   the  stream  was 

sent, 
Down  the  swift  Hebrus  to  the  Lesbian 

shore  ? 

Alas  !  what  boots  it  with  uncessant  care 
65  To  tend  the  homely,  slighted,  shepherd's  3-  Adigres- 

j  sion!    Since 

trade,  ufe  j^  ^  y^. 

And  strictly  meditate  the  thankless  Muse  ?  ce^ain, 
Were  it  not  better  don,  as  others  use,  why  strive  for 

To  sport  with  Amaryllis  in  the  shade,  iJue'^^'^'tr  * 

Or  with  the  tangles  of  Neaera's  hair? 
70  Fame  is  the  spur  that  the  clear  spirit  doth 

raise 
(That  last  infirmity  of  noble  mind) 
To  scorn  delights  and  live  laborious  dayes; 
But  the  fair  guerdon  when  we  hope  to 

find. 
And  think  to  burst  out  into  sudden  blaze, 
75  Comes  the  blind  Fury  with  th'  abhorred 

shears, 
And  slits  the  thin-spun  life. 


Milton's  " Lycidas'^  77 

"  But  not  the  praise," 
Phoebus  repH'd,  and  touch'd  my  trembling  4-  Because  a 

well-earned 

cars :  fa^g 

"  Fame  is  no  plant  that  grows  on  mortal 

soil, 
Nor  in  the  glistering  foil 
80 Set  off  to  th'  world,  nor  in  broad  Rumour  is  immortal 

Hes, 
But  lives  and  spreds  aloft  by  those  pure 

eyes 
And  perfet  witnes  of  all-judging  Jove  ;  and  the  true 

As  he  pronounces  lastly  on  each  deed,         p°^'  receives 

ir  J  J  fiis  reward  in 

Of  SO  much  fame  in  Heav'n  expect  thy  heaven. 
meed." 


85     O  fountain  Arethuse,  and  thou  honour'd 
flood. 
Smooth-sliding  Mincius,  crown'd  with  vocal 

reeds, 
That  strain  I  heard  was  of  a  higher  mood  : 
But  now  my  oat  proceeds, 
And  listens  to  the  Herald  of  the  Sea,  5-  Neptune 

'  was  not  to 

90 That  came  in  Neptune's  plea.  blame: 

He  ask'd  the  waves,  and  ask'd  the  fellon 

winds. 
What  hard  mishap  had  doom'd  this  gentle 

swain  ? 
And  question'd  every  gust  of  rugged  wings 


7S  Milton's  "  Lycidas'' 

That  blows  from  off  each  beaked  prom- 
ontory : 
95  They  knew  not  of  his  story ; 

And  sage  Hippotad^s  their  answer  brings,  nor^Eoius; 

That  not  a  blast  was  from  his  dungeon 
stray'd  : 

The  air  was  calm,  and  on  the  level  brine 

Sleek  Panope  with  all  her  sisters  play'd. 
loolt  was  that  fatal  and  perfidious  bark,  buttheunsea- 

Built  in  th'  eclipse,  and  rigg'd  with  curses  ^""^  ^^  '^' 
dark, 

That  sunk  so  low  that  sacred  head  of  thine. 

Next,  Camus,  reverend  sire,  went  foot-   6.  Camus.god 

,  of  the  River 

ing  slow.  Cam,  bewails 

His  mantle  hairy,  and  his  bonnet  sedge,       *»'^  '°ss. 
105  Inwrought  with  figures  dim,  and  on  the 
edge 

Like  to  that  sanguine  flower  inscrib'd  with 
woe. 

"  Ah  !  who  hath  reft,"  quoth  he,  "  my  dear- 
est pledge?  " 

Last  came,  and  last  did  go. 
The  pilot  of  the  Galilean  lake  ;  7.  St.  Peter 

T-  1  LI,  r  i    1      i        •  regrets  the  loss 

no  Two  massy  keys  he  bore  of  metals  twain      of  one  who 
(The  golden  opes,  the  iron  shuts  amain).      *o"'d  h^^e 

TT  r       ,       ,  •  •        ,j     ,       ,  J  been  a  faithful 

He  shook   his   miter  d   locks,  and   stern   shepherd  of 
bespake:—  the  flock  which 


Milton's  "  Lycidas^^  79 

"  How  well  could  I  have  spar'd  for  thee,  is  now  left  to 

young  Swain,  "^^^^Z 

Anow  of  such,  as  for  their  belUes'  sake,  creep  and 

"5  Creep,  and   intrude,  and  climb  into  the  climb  into  the 

fQ\A   I  fold  for  their 

own  personal 

Of  Other  care  they  little  reck'ning  make       profit. 
Then  how  to  scramble  at   the    shearers' 

feast. 
And  shove  away  the  worthy  bidden  guest. 
Blind   mouthes !    that   scarce    themselves 

know  how  to  hold 
120  A  sheep-hook,  or  have  learn'd  ought  els 

the  least 
That  to  the  faithfuU  herdsman's  art  belongs  ! 
What  recks  it  them?     What  need  they? 

they  are  sped  ; 
And,  when  they  list,  their  lean  and  flashy 

songs 
Grate  on  their  scrannel  pipes  of  wretched 

straw ; 
125  The  hungry  sheep  look  up,  and  are  not 

fed, 
But,  swoln  with  wind  and  the  rank  mist 

they  draw, 
Rot  inwardly,  and  foul  contagion  spread  ;    Their  destruc- 
Besides  what  the  grim  woolf  with  privy  t'O"  awaits 

°  '■         ■'      them  and  is 

paw  •      nigh  at  hand. 

Daily  devours  apace,  and  nothing  sed ; 


80  Milton's  "  Lycidas" 

130  But  that  two-handed  engine  at  the  door 
Stands  ready  to  smite  once,  and  smite  no 
more." 

Return,  Alph^us ;   the   dread  voice  is 

past 
That  shrunk  thy  streams ;  return,  Sicilian 

Muse, 
And  call  the  vales,  and  bid  them  hither  8.  The  poet, 

cast  forgetting  that 

the  body  was 

135  Their  bels  and  flourets  of  a  thousand  hues,   lost  in  the  sea, 
Ye  valleys  low,  where  the  milde  whispers  use   Sicilian  Muse 
Of  shades,  and  wanton  winds,  and  gush- 
ing brooks, 
On  whose  fresh  lap  the  swart  star  sparely   to  bid  the  vales 

looks, 
Throw  hither  all  your  quaint  enameld  eyes, 
140 That  on  the  green  terf  suck  the  honied 
showres. 
And   purple  all   the   ground  with  vernal  bring  all  their 

flowres.  '''°^'°'"* 

Bring  the  rathe  primrose  that  forsaken  dies. 
The  tufted  crow-toe,  and  pale  gessamine, 
The  white  pink,  and  the  pansie  freakt  with 
jeat, 
145  The  glowing  violet, 

The  musk-rose,  and  the  well-attir'd  wood- 
bine, 


Milton's  "  Lycidas"  81 

With  cowslips  wan  that  hang  the  pensive 

head, 
And   every   flower   that   sad    embroidery 

wears ; 
Bid  Amaranthus  all  his  beauty  shed,  to  decorate  the 

150 And  daffadillies  fill  their  cups  with  tears,      ^^"Lf 
To  strew  the  laureat  herse  where  Lycid  lies. 

For  so,  to  interpose  a  little  ease. 

Let   our    frail   thoughts    dally   with    false   9-  Recalling 

the  fact, 

surmise,  ' 

Ay  me  !  whilst  thee  the  shores  and  sound- 
ing seas 
155  Wash  far  away,  where  ere  thy  bones  are 
hurl'd ; 

Whether  beyond  the  stormy  Hebrides,         he  wonders 

Where  thou,  perhaps,  under  the  whelming 
tide 

Visit'st  the  bottom  of  the  monstrous  world  ; 

Or  whether  thou,  to  our  moist  vows  deny'd   where  the 
i6oSleep'st  by  the  fable  of  Bellerus  old, 

Where  the  great  Vision  of  the  guarded   bones  of 
mount 

Looks   toward    Namancos   and    Bayona's 
hold  : 

Look   homeward,   angel,   now,  and   melt  now  be,  and 

with    ruth  ;  begs  pity  of  an 

'  angel  and  of 

And,  O  ye  Dolphins,  waft  the  haples  youth,   the  dolphins. 


82 


Milton''  s  ' '  Lycidas ' ' 


i6s     Weep  no  more,  woful  shepherds,  weep 

no  more, 
For  Lycidas,  your  sorrow,  is  not  dead, 
Sunk  though  he  be  beneath  the  watry  floar  : 
So  sinks  the  day-star  in  the  ocean  bed. 
And  yet  anon  repairs  his  drooping  head, 
1 70  And    tricks    his    beams,    and    with   new- 
spangled  ore 
Flames  in  the  forehead  of  the  morning  sky  : 
So  Lycidas  sunk  low,  but  mounted  high. 
Through  the  dear  might  of  Him  that  walk'd 

the  waves. 
Where,  other   groves   and  other  streams 

along, 
175  With  nectar  pure  his  oozy  locks  he  laves, 
And  hears  the  unexpressive  nuptial  song. 
In  the  blest  kingdoms  meek  of  Joy  and 

Love. 
There  entertain  him  all  the  Saints  above. 
In  solemn  troops,  and  sweet  societies, 
180 That  sing,  and  singing  in  their  glory  move. 
And  wipe  the  tears  for  ever  from  his  eyes. 
Now,    Lycidas,    the    shepherds    weep   no 

more; 
Henceforth  thou  art  the  Genius  of  the 

shore, 
In  thy  large  recompense,  and  shalt  be  good 
185 To  all  that  wander  in  that  perilous  flood. 


10.   Hope 
arises. 

Lycidas  is  not 
dead. 


Through  the 
power  of  Christ 
he  has  been 
admitted  to 
the  joyful  com- 
pany of  saints 


in  heaven. 


Henceforth  he 
shall  be  the 
guardian 
genius  of  the 
shore. 


Milton's  "  Lycidas''  83 

Thus  sang  the  uncouth  swain  to  th'  okes 

and  rills, 
While  the  still  Morn  went  out  with  sandals 

grey ; 
He  touch'd  the  tender  stops  of  various   iii.  EpUogue. 

quills, 
With  eager  thought  warbling  his   Dorick 

lay  : 
190  And   now  the   sun  had  stretch'd  out  all   i.  His  strain 

the  hills,  ^;^ 

And  now  was  dropt  into  the  western  bay.     shepherd 
At  last  he  rose,  and  twitch 'd  his  mantle     ^^^ 

blew : 
To-morrow  to  fresh  woods  and  pastures 

new. 

Style 

"  The  poetry  of  Milton  is  the  very  essence  of  poetry." 

Edmond  Scherer. 

"  His  lyrical  poems,  move  they  ever  so  softly,  step  loftily 
with  something  of  an  epic  air."  Mrs.  Browning. 

"  Nature  had  endowed  him  in  no  ordinary  degree  with 
that  most  exquisite  of  her  gifts,  the  ear  and  passion  for 
harmony."  David  Masson. 

"  One  of  the  charms  of  '  Lycidas '  is  its  solemn  under- 
tone rising  like  a  chant."  Stopford  Brooke. 


84  Milton's  "  Lycidas" 

"  The  sound  of  his  lines  is  moulded  into  the  expression 
of  the  sentiment  of  almost  every  image.  .  .  .  His  verse 
floats  up  and  down  as  if  it  had  wings."        William  Haditt. 

"  All  the  treasures  of  sweet  and  solemn  sound  are  at 
his  command."  W.  E.  Channing. 

"  He  makes  words  tell  as  pictures."         William  HazHtt. 

"  He  was  master  of  his  language  in  its  full  extent." 

Samuel  Johnson. 

"  He  is  the  poet  of  the  scholars."  /.  c.  Skairp. 

"  His  rhythm  is  as  admirable  when  it  is  unusual  as 
when  it  is  simplest."  Mattheiv  Arnold. 

A   SONNET  ON   MILTON 

"  Milton  !  thou  should'st  be  living  at  this  hour  :  a 

England  hath  need  of  thee  :  she  is  a  fen  b 

Of  stagnant  waters  :  altar,  sword,  and  pen,  b 

Fireside,  the  heroic  wealth  of  hall  and  bovver,  a 

Have  forfeited  their  ancient  EngHsh  dower  a 

Of  inward  happiness.     We  are  selfish  men ;  b 

Oh  !  raise  us  up,  return  to  us  again,  b 

And  give  us  manners,  virtue,  freedom,  power.  a 

Thy  soul  was  like  a  Star,  and  dwelt  apart :  c 
Thou  hadst  a  voice  whose  sound  was  like  the  sea :  d 

Pure  as  the  naked  heavens,  majestic,  free,  ,d 

So  didst  thou  travel  on  life's  common  way,  e 

In  cheerful  godliness  ;  and  yet  thy  heart  c 

The  lowliest  duties  on  herself  did  lay."  e 

Wordsworth, 


Milton's  "  Lycidas''  85 

"  O  mighty-mouth'd  inventor  of  harmonies, 
O  skill'd  to  sing  of  Time  or  Eternity, 
God-gifted  organ-voice  of  England, 
Milton,  a  name  to  resound  for  ages ; 
Whose  Titan  angels,  Gabriel,  Abdiel, 
Starr'd  from  Jehovah's  gorgeous  armories, 
Tower,  as  the  deep-domed  empyrean 
Rings  to  the  roar  of  an  angel  onset  — 

**  Me  rather  all  that  bowery  loneliness, 
The  brooks  of  Eden  mazily  murmuring. 
And  bloom  profuse  and  cedar  arches 
Charm,  as  wanderer  out  in  ocean, 
Where  some  refulgent  sunset  of  India 
Streams  o'er  a  rich  ambrosial  ocean  isle. 
And  crimson-hued  the  stately  palm  woods 

Whisper  in  odorous  heights  of  even,"    Tennyson. 


ESSAYS   AND   ADDRESSES 


A    BRIEF   OUTLINE    OF   MACAULAY'S 
"AN    ESSAY    ON    MILTON" 

Author 

Thomas  Babington  Macaulay 

Bom  October  25,  1800        Died  December  28,  1859 

Occasion 

Discovery  and  publication  of  Milton's  "  Essay  on  the 
Doctrines  of  Christianity  "  (1825). 

Purpose 

To  glorify  Milton  and  the  political  party  to  which  he 
belonged. 

Point  of  View 

That  of  a  thoroughgoing  Whig- Liberal  —  this  Essay 
was  both  a  political  pamphlet  and  a  literary  criticism. 

Summary 

I.     INTRODUCTION 

1-7.  Discussion  of  the  "  Essay  on  the  Doctrines  of 
Christianity."  It  displays  traces  of  a  powerful  and  inde- 
pendent mind. 

I 


2  Macaulay's  "An  Essay  on  Milton" 

II.     BODY   OF  THE   ESSAY 
I.  Milton's  Poetry 

8-17.  Milton  ranks  among  the  greatest  masters  of  the 
art  of  poetry,  yet  no  poet  ever  had  to  struggle  with  more 
unfavorable  circumstances  than  he.  For,  as  civilization 
advances,  poetry  almost  necessarily  declines. 

18-19.  H^e  was  perhaps  the  only  great  poet  of  later 
times  who  has  been  distinguished  by  the  excellence  of  his 
Latin  verse  :  it  exhibits  marked  originality  and  exquisite 
imagery. 

20-24.  Milton's  English  poetry  possesses  some  sort  of 
occult  power :  it  acts  like  an  incantation.  His  diction 
possesses  a  peculiar  power  of  suggestion.  Example, 
"  L' Allegro  "  and  "  II  Penseroso." 

25-29.  Milton's  dramatic  poems  ("  Comus "  and 
"  Samson  Agonistes ")  are  lyric  poems  in  the  form  of 
plays.  The  "  Samson "  was  modeled  after  the  Greek 
drama ;   the  "  Comus  "  on  the  Italian  masque. 

30-42.  "Paradise  Lost"  is  an  extraordinary  production 
which  the  general  suffrage  of  critics  has  placed  in  the 
highest  class  of  human  compositions.  It  is  not  more 
superior  to  the  "  Paradise  Regained  "  than  the  latter  is  to 
every  poem  which  has  since  made  its  appearance.  Milton's 
management  of  supernatural  agencies  is  far  superior  to 
that  of  Dante. 

43-46.  Milton  and  Dante :  the  poetry  of  these  great 
men  has  in  a  considerable  degree  taken  its  character  from 


Macaulay's  "An  Essay  on  Milton"  3 

their  moral  qualities.     Milton  was  peculiarly  distinguished 
by  loftiness  of  thought ;  Dante,  by  intensity  of  feeling. 

47-48.  Milton's  "Sonnets"  are  the  simple  but  majestic 
records  of  the  feelings  of  the  poet. 

2.   Milton,  the  Citizen 

49-72.  Milton's  conduct  during  the  Commonwealth 
period  is  to  be  commended  :  all  Englishmen  approve  of 
the  Revolution  of  1688;  that  of  1642  was  based  on  the 
same  principles  and  was  just  as  right  and  necessary.  The 
two  are  compared  in  detail. 

73-74.  The  conduct  of  the  Regicides  is  not  to  be 
approved  of;  yet,  when  the  deed  in  which  he  had  no 
personal  share  was  done,  everything  considered,  Milton 
did  right  in  defending  it. 

75-77.  Cromwell's  administration  was  admirable  j  that 
of  Charles  II,  detestable  :  in  adhering  to  Cromwell,  Milton 
chose  wisely. 

78.  England  at  that  time  contained  many  who  were 
ready  to  side  with  the  successful  party. 

79-83.  The  Puritans  :  the  most  remarkable  body  of 
men  perhaps  which  the  world  has  ever  produced.  See 
Quotations. 

84.  The  Heathens :  doubting  Thomases  or  careless 
Gallios  with  regard  to  religious  subjects,  but  passionate 
worshipers  of  freedom. 

85.  The  Royalists  :  they  had  many  virtues,  were  more 
learned  than  the  Puritans,  and  had  more  polished  manners. 


4  Macaulay's  "An  Essay  on  Milton" 

86.  Milton  :  in  his  character,  the  noblest  qualities  of 
every  party  were  combined  in  harmonious  union. 

3.   Milton  as  a  Writer  of  Prose 

87-91.  In  his  prose  writings,  Milton  was  the  ardent 
champion  of  liberty.  They  abound  in  passages  com- 
pared with  which  the  finest  declamations  of  Burke  sink 
into  insignificance.  They  are  a  perfect  cloth  of  gold. 
The  style  is  stiff  with  gorgeous  embroidery. 

III.    CONCLUSION 

"  While  this  book  lies  on  our  table,  we  seem  to  be  con- 
temporaries of  the  writer.  We  are  transported  a  hundred 
and  fifty  years  back.  We  can  almost  fancy  that  we  are 
visiting  him  in  his  small  lodging ;  that  we  see  him  sitting 
at  the  old  organ  beneath  the  faded  green  hangings ;  that 
we  can  catch  the  quick  twinkle  of  his  eyes,  rolling  in  vain 
to  find  the  day ;  that  we  are  reading  in  the  lines  of  his 
noble  countenance  the  proud  and  mournful  history  of 
his  glory  and  his  affliction.  We  image  to  ourselves  the 
breathless  silence  in  which  we  should  listen  to  his  slight- 
est word  ;  the  passionate  veneration  with  which  we  should 
kneel  to  kiss  his  hand  and  weep  upon  it  ;  the  earnestness 
with  which  we  should  endeavor  to  console  him,  if  indeed 
such  a  spirit  could  need  consolation,  for  the  neglect  of 
an  age  unworthy  of  his  talents  and  his  virtues  ;  the  eager- 
ness with  which  we  should  contest  with  his  daughters,  or 


Macaulay's  "An  Essay  on  Milton"  5 

with  his  Quaker  friend  Elwood,  the  privilege  of  reading 
Homer  to  him,  or  of  taking  down  the  immortal  accents 
which  flowed  from  his  Hps. 

"These  are  perhaps  foolish  feelings.  Yet  we  cannot  be 
ashamed  of  them  ;  nor  shall  we  be  sorry  if  what  we  have 
written  shall  in  any  degree  excite  them  in  other  minds. 
We  are  not  much  in  the  habit  of  idolizing  either  the 
living  or  the  dead.  And  we  think  that  there  is  no 
more  certain  indication  of  a  weak  and  ill-regulated 
intellect  than  that  propensity  which,  for  want  of  a  better 
name,  we  will  venture  to  christen  Boswellism.  But  there 
are  a  few  characters  which  have  stood  the  closest  scrutiny 
and  the  severest  tests,  which  have  been  tried  in  the  fur- 
nace and  have  proved  pure,  which  have  been  zveighed  in 
the  balance  and  have  not  been  found  wanting,  which  have 
been  declared  sterling  by  the  general  consent  of  mankind, 
and  which  are  visibly  stamped  with  the  image  and  super- 
scription of  the  Most  High.  These  great  men  we  trust 
that  we  know  how  to  prize ;  and  of  these  was  Milton. 
The  sight  of  his  books,  the  sound  of  his  name,  are  pleas- 
ant to  us.  His  thoughts  resemble  those  celestial  fruits 
and  flowers  which  the  Virgin  Martyr  of  Massinger  sent 
down  from  the  gardens  of  Paradise  to  the  earth,  and 
which  were  distinguished  from  the  productions  of  other 
soils,  not  only  by  superior  bloom  and  sweetness,  but  by 
miraculous  efiicacy  to  invigorate  and  to  heal.  They  are 
powerful,  not  only  to  delight,  but  to  elevate  and  purify. 
Nor  do  we  envy  the  man  who  can  study  either  the  Hfe  or 


6  Macaulay's  "An  Essay  on  Milton" 

the  writings  of  the  great  poet  and  patriot,  without  aspiring 
to  emulate,  not  indeed  the  subHme  works  with  which  his 
genius  has  enriched  our  literature,  but  the  zeal  with  which 
he  labored  for  the  public  good,  the  fortitude  with  which 
he  endured  every  private  calamity,  the  lofty  disdain  with 
which  he  looked  down  on  temptations  and  dangers,  the 
deadly  hatred  which  he  bore  to  bigots  and  tyrants,  and 
the  faith  which  he  so  sternly  kept  with  his  country  and 
with  his  fame," 

Quotations 

"  Thus  the  Puritan  was  made  up  of  two  different  men, 
the  one  all  self-abasement,  penitence,  gratitude,  passion ; 
the  other  proud,  calm,  inflexible,  sagacious.  He  prostrated 
himself  in  the  dust  before  his  Maker ;  but  he  set  his  foot 
on  the  neck  of  his  king.  In  his  devotional  retirement, 
he  prayed  with  convulsions,  and  groans,  and  tears.  He 
was  half  maddened  by  glorious  or  terrible  illusions.  He 
heard  the  lyres  of  angels  or  the  tempting  whispers  of 
fiends.  He  caught  a  gleam  of  the  Beatific  Vision,  or 
woke  screaming  from  dreams  of  everlasting  fire.  Like 
Vane,  he  thought  himself  intrusted  with  the  sceptre  of 
the  millennial  year.  Like  Fleetwood,  he  cried  in  the 
bitterness  of  his  soul  that  God  had  hid  his  face  from 
him.  But  when  he  took  his  seat  in  the  council,  or  girt 
on  his  sword  for  war,  these  tempestuous  workings  of  the 
soul  had  left  no  perceptible  trace  behind  them.  People 
who  saw  nothing  of  the  godly  but  their  uncouth  visages, 
and  heard  nothing  from  them  but  their  groans  and  their 


Macaulay's  "An  Essay  on  Milton"  7 

whining  hymns,  might  laugh  at  them.  But  those  had 
little  reason  to  laugh  who  encountered  them  in  the  hall 
of  debate  or  in  the  field  of  battle.  These  fanatics  brought 
to  civil  and  military  affairs  a  coolness  of  judgment  and  an 
immutability  of  purpose  which  some  writers  have  thought 
inconsistent  with  their  religious  zeal,  but  which  were  in 
fact  the  necessary  effects  of  it.  The  intensity  of  their 
feelings  on  one  subject  made  them  tranquil  on  every 
other.  One  overpowering  sentiment  had  subjected  to 
itself  pity  and  hatred,  ambition  and  fear.  Death  had 
lost  its  terrors  and  pleasure  its  charms.  They  had  their 
smiles  and  their  tears,  their  raptures  and  their  sorrows, 
but  not  for  things  of  this  world.  Enthusiasm  had  made 
them  Stoics,  had  cleared  their  minds  from  every  vulgar 
passion  and  prejudice,  and  raised  them  above  the  influence 
of  danger  and  of  corruption.  It  sometimes  might  lead 
them  to  pursue  unwise  ends,  but  never  to  choose  unwise 
means.  They  went  through  the  world,  hke  Sir  Artegal's 
iron  man  Talus  with  his  flail,  crushing  and  trampling 
down  oppressors,  mingling  with  human  beings,  but  having 
neither  part  nor  lot  in  human  infirmities ;  insensible  to 
fatigue,  to  pleasure,  and  to  pain ;  not  to  be  pierced  by 
any  weapon,  not  to  be  withstood  by  any  barrier." 

Style  * 
Oratorical — profuse — sparkling — self-confident, 
"  It  was  arranged  with  but  few  appliances  except  the  con- 

•  See  outline  of  "  Morley's  Essay  on  Macaulay,"  page  i8. 


8  Macaulay's  "An  Essay  on  Milton" 

secrated  antithetic  balance,  was  *  classical '  in  diction,  and 
only  ornamented  so  far  as  vocabulary  goes  by  a  very 
liberal  use  of  proper  names,  slightly  fatiguing  by  its  'snip- 
snap,'  .  .  .  but  perfectly  clear.  .  .  .  Suggestion  it  has 
none.  What  Macaulay  meant  the  reader  understands  at 
once  and  to  the  very  full.  Not  a  foot-pound  of  effort  is 
lost.  ...    In  this  respect  no  style  can  rank  much  higher." 

Saintsbury. 

Macaulay  was  a  typical  Englishman  of  his  time  —  not 
a  deep  or  abstract  thinker  —  a  practical  politician  —  not 
ultra-scrupulous  —  a  strong  partisan  —  not  a  consummate 
critic — unable  to  grasp  the  finer  shades  of  thought  or 
imagination — had  a  prodigious  memory — a  great  reader. 

"  He  was  in  exact  accord  with  the  common  average 
sentiment  of  his  day  on  every  subject  on  which  he  spoke." 

Morley. 

Note.  —  The  quotations  given  contain  some  of  the  finest  examples 
of  Macaulay's  balanced  antitheses. 


A   BRIEF   OUTLINE   OF   MACAULAY'S 
"AN    ESSAY    ON    ADDISON" 

Author        ' 
Thomas  Babington  Macaulay 
Born  1800         Died  1859 

Occasion 

The  publication  of  Miss  Aikin's  "  Life  of  Addison  " 

(1843)- 

Purpose 

To  give  a  more  correct  idea  of  Addison  as  a  man 

and  a  writer. 

Point  of  View 

That  of  an  English  Whig- Liberal  of  1843,  writing 
about  a  Whig  author  and   statesman  of  1700. 

Summary 
I.     INTRODUCTION 
1-3.   Miss  Aikin's  book  has  disappointed  us. 

II.    BODY   OF  THE   ESSAY 

4.  (While)  Addison  has  left  us  some  compositions 
which  do  not  rise  above  mediocrity,  ...  in  a  high 
department  of  literature  ...  he  has  no  equal. 

9 


10        Macaulay's  "An  Essay  on  Addison" 

5.  He  deserved  as  much  love  and  esteem  as  can  be 
justly  claimed  by  any  of  our  infirm  and  erring  race. 

6.  His  father,  the  Rev.  Lancelot  Addison,  made  some 
figure  in  the  world,  and  was  himself  a  writer  of  some  little 
note. 

7-9.  Addison  began  his  education  in  a  local  school,  was 
sent  to  The  Charter  House,  and  finally  to  Magdalen 
College,  Oxford,  where  he  distinguished  himself  by  his 
Latin  verses. 

10-16.  Miss  Aikin  has  overestimated  his  classical 
attainments.  They  were  confined  almost  entirely  to 
Latin  poetry. 

17-20.  His  Latin  poems  are  of  a  high  order.  He 
imitated  Virgil  with  great  skill. 

21-26.  Addison's  first  attempts  at  English  are  not  of 
a  high  order. 

27-28.  That  Addison  devoted  himself  to  literature  was 
due  to  the  fact  that  his  party,  the  Whigs,  needed  clever 
writers  and  took  him  up. 

29-34.  They  gave  him  a  pension  and  sent  him  to 
France  to  learn  the  language.  There  he  saw  Boileau, 
who  praised  his  Latin  verses. 

35-41.  He  then  visited  Italy,  where  he  got  a  hint  for 
his  "  Cato." 

42-44.  He  crossed  the  Alps,  during  which  time  he 
composed  his  metrical  "  Epistle  to  Lord  Halifax." 

45-46.  By  political  changes  his  pension  was  stopped. 
He  became  tutor  to  a  young  Enghshman  and  traveled 


Macaulay's  "An  Essay  .on  Addison"         11 

in  Germany  and  Switzerland.  There  he  composed  his 
"Treatise  on  Medals,"  which  Macaulay  praises. 

47-60.  He  returned  to  England,  wrote  the  "  Campaign  " 
(of  Blenheim),  in  which  he  departed  from  the  ridiculous 
style  of  Homeric  descriptions  of  battles  which  had  ob- 
tained up  to  that  time,  published  his  pleasing  "  Travels  in 
Italy,"  and  the  "  Opera  of  Rosamund,"  which  Macaulay 
commends. 

61-66.  In  1705,  he  went  into  office  with  the  Whigs, 
and,  in  1 708,  became  a  Member  of  Parliament,  where  he 
failed  as  a  debater ;  yet  in  about  nine  years  he  became 
Secretary  of  State.  He  was  a  fine  conversationalist  and 
one  of  the  most  popular  men  of  his  time. 

67-71.  He  was,  perhaps,  excessively  fond  of  admiration. 

72-74.  He  became  Chief  Secretary  to  the  Lord  Lieu- 
tenant of  Ireland. 

75-80.  In  1709,  he  became  a  contributor  to  Steel's 
Tatler —  the  true  beginning  of  his  literary  career. 

81-91.  As  a  moral  satirist,  he  stands  unrivaled.  Con- 
trast with  Swift  and  Voltaire. 

92-96.  The  Whig  Ministry  fell,  and  none  of  the  Whigs 
suffered  more  in  the  general  wreck  than  Addison,  yet  he 
Stood  well  with  the  Tories. 

97-105.  Steele  discontinued  the  Tatler  zxiA  started  the 
Spectator,  to  which  Addison  contributed  the  best  papers, 
which  approach  near  to  absolute  perfection.  Steele  then 
changed  his  paper  to  the  Guardian,  to  which  Addison 
contributed  little.     It  soon  failed. 


12         Macaulay's  ''An  Essay  on  Addison" 

106-1 13.  He  was  then  engaged  on  the  "  Cato,"  which 
when  brought  out  was  praised  by  Whigs  and  Tories  alike. 
To  it  Macaulay  gives  but  moderate  praise. 

114-116.  The  "Cato"  was  coarsely  attacked  by  one 
John  Dennis  and  as  vulgarly  defended  by  Pope.  Addison 
was  silent. 

1 1 7-1 19.  Steele  discontinued  the  Guardian  and  set  up 
the  Englishman,  which,  unsupported  by  Addison,  failed. 
Addison  added  an  eighth  volume  to  the  Spectator,  which 
contains  some  of  the  best  essays  in  the  English  language. 

120-128.  On  the  accession  of  George  I.,  the  Whigs 
returned,  and  Addison  went  again  to  Ireland  as  Chief 
Secretary.  A  coolness  had  arisen  between  Swift  and 
Addison,  but  Addison  showed  his  courage  and  kindness 
of  heart  by  treating  Swift  generously  when  he  was  almost 
friendless. 

129-130.  Addison  soon  returned  to  England  and  pro- 
duced the  rather  inferior  play  called  the  "  Drummer," 
which  was  coldly  received.  He  next  published  a  politi- 
cal sheet  called  the  Freeholder,  which  is  entitled  to  first 
place  among  his  political  writings. 

131-147.  Pope  became  angry  at  Addison  and  satirized 
him  as  "  Atticus." 

148-160.  Addison  married  the  Countess  of  Warwick, 
with  whom  he  was  not  (apparently)  perfectly  happy. 
Addison  soon  after  became  Secretary  of  State.  His 
health  failed.  He  carried  on  a  political  controversy 
with  Steele  in  which  Steele,  at  least,  was  very  bitter. 


Macaulay's  "An  Essay  on  Addison"         13 

160-167.  In  1 719,  he  died  with  perfect  serenity  and 
Christian  resignation.  He  was  buried  in  Westminster 
Abbey. 

III.    CONCLUSION 

"The  last  moments  of  Addison  were  perfectly  serene. 
His  interview  with  his  son-in-law  is  universally  known. 
"  See,"  he  said,  "  how  a  Christian  can  die."  The  piety 
of  Addison  was,  in  truth,  of  a  singularly  cheerful  charac- 
ter. The  feeling  which  predominates  in  all  his  devotional 
writings  is  gratitude.  God  was  to  him  the  allwise  and  all- 
powerful  Friend  who  had  watched  over  his  cradle  with 
more  than  maternal  tenderness ;  who  had  listened  to  his 
cries  before  they  could  form  themselves  in  prayer ;  who 
had  preserved  his  youth  from  the  snares  of  vice  ;  who  had 
made  his  cup  run  over  with  worldly  blessings ;  who  had 
doubled  the  value  of  those  blessings  by  bestowing  a  thank- 
ful heart  to  enjoy  them,  and  dear  friends  to  partake  them  ; 
who  had  rebuked  the  waves  of  the  Ligurian  gulf,  had 
purified  the  autumnal  air  of  the  Campagna,  and  had 
restrained  the  avalanches  of  Mont  Cenis.  Of  the  Psalms, 
his  favorite  was  that  which  represents  the  Ruler  of  all 
things  under  the  endearing  image  of  a  shepherd,  whose 
crook  guides  the  flock  safe,  through  gloomy  and  deso- 
late glens,  to  meadows  well  watered  and  rich  with  herb- 
age. On  that  goodness  to  which  he  ascribed  all  the 
happiness  of  his  Hfe,  he  relied  in  the  hour  of  death  with 
the  love  that  casteth  out  fear.  He  died  on  the  17th  of 
June,  1 7 19.     He  had  just  entered  on  his  forty-eighth  year. 


14        Macaulay's  "An  Essay  on  Addison" 

"It  is  strange  that  neither  his  opulent  and  noble  widow, 
nor  any  of  his  powerful  and  attached  friends,  should  have 
thought  of  placing  even  a  simple  tablet,  inscribed  with 
his  name,  on  the  walls  of  the  Abbey.  It  was  not  till  three 
generations  had  laughed  and  wept  over  his  pages,  that 
the  omission  was  supplied  by  the  public  veneration.  At 
length,  in  our  own  time,  his  image,  skillfully  graven,  ap- 
peared in  Poet's  Corner.  It  represents  him,  as  we  can 
conceive  him,  clad  in  his  dressing-gown,  and  freed  from 
his  wig,  stepping  from  his  parlor  at  Chelsea  into  his  trim 
little  garden,  with  the  account  of  the  Everlasting  Club,  or 
the  Loves  of  Hilpa  and  Shalum,  just  finished  for  the  next 
day's  Spectator,  in  his  hand.  Such  a  mark  of  national 
respect  was  due  to  the  unsullied  statesman,  to  the  accom- 
plished scholar,  to  the  master  of  pure  English  eloquence, 
■  to  the  consummate  painter  of  life  and  manners.  It  was 
due,  above  all,  to  the  great  satirist,  who  alone  knew  how 
to  use  ridicule  without  abusing  it,  who,  without  inflicting 
a  wound,  effected  a  great  social  reform,  and  who  recon- 
ciled wit  and  virtue,  after  a  long  and  disastrous  separation, 
during  which  wit  had  been  led  astray  by  profligacy,  and 
virtue  by  fanaticism." 

Quotations 

"  To  the  influence  which  Addison  derived  from  his  liter- 
ary talents  was  added  all  the  influence  which  arises  from 
character.  The  world,  always  ready  to  think  the  worst 
of  needy  political  adventurers,  was  forced  to  make  one 
exception.     Restlessness,   violence,   audacity,   laxity  of 


Macaulays  "An  Essay  on  Addison"         15 

principle,  are  the  vices  ordinarily  attributed  to  that  class 
of  men.  But  faction  itself  could  not  deny  that  Addison 
had,  through  all  changes  of  fortune,  been  strictly  faithful 
to  his  early  opinions,  and  to  his  early  friends  ;  that  his 
integrity  was  without  stain ;  that  his  whole  deportment 
indicated  a  fine  sense  of  the  becoming;  that  in  the 
utmost  heat  of  controversy,  his  zeal  was  tempered  by  a 
regard  for  truth,  humanity,  and  social  decorum ;  that  no 
outrage  could  ever  provoke  him  to  retaliation  unworthy 
of  a  Christian  and  a  gentleman ;  and  that  his  only  faults 
were  a  to6  sensitive  delicacy,  and  a  modesty  which 
amounted  to  bashfulness. 

"  He  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  popular  men  of 
his  time  ;  and  much  of  his  popularity  he  owed,  we  believe, 
to  that  very  timidity  which  his  friends  lamented.  That 
timidity  often  prevented  him  from  exhibiting  his  talents 
to  the  best  advantage.  But  it  propitiated  Nemesis.  It 
averted  that  envy  which  would  otherwise  have  been  ex- 
cited by  fame  so  splendid,  and  by  so  rapid  an  elevation. 
No  man  is  so  great  a  favorite  with  the  public  as  he  who 
is  at  once  an  object  of  admiration,  of  respect,  and  of  pity  ; 
and  such  were  the  feelings  which  Addison  inspired.  Those 
who  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  hearing  his  familiar  conversa- 
tion, declared  with  one  voice  that  it  was  superior  even  to 
his  writings.  The  brilliant  Mary  Montague  said,  that  she 
had  known  all  the  wits,  and  that  Addison  was  the  best  com- 
pany in  the  world.  The  malignant  Pope  was  forced  to 
own,  that  there  was  a  charm  in  Addison's  talk  which  could 


16      ■  Macaulqy's  "An  Essay  on  Addison" 

be  found  nowhere  else.  Swift,  when  burning  with  ani- 
mosity against  the  Whigs,  could  not  but  confess  to  Stella 
that,  after  all,  he  had  never  known  any  associate  so  agree- 
able as  Addison.  Steele,  an  excellent  judge  of  lively  con- 
versation, said,  that  the  conversation  of  Addison  was  at 
once  the  most  polite,  and  the  most  mirthful,  that  could 
be  imagined ;  that  it  was  Terence  and  Catullus  in  one, 
heightened  by  an  exquisite  something  which  was  neither 
Terence  nor  Catullus,  but  Addison  alone.  Young,  an 
excellent  judge  of  serious  conversation,  said,  that  when 
Addison  was  at  his  ease,  he  went  on  in  a  noble  strain  of 
thought  and  language,  so  as  to  chain  the  attention  of 
every  hearer.  Nor  were  Addison's  great  colloquial  powers 
more  admirable  than  the  courtesy  and  the  softness  of 
heart  which  appeared  in  his  conversation.  At  the  same 
time,  it  would  be  too  much  to  say  that  he  was  wholly 
devoid  of  the  malice  which  is,  perhaps,  inseparable  from 
a  keen  sensfe  of  the  ludicrous.  He  had  one  habit  which 
both  Swift  and  Stella  applauded,  and  which  we  hardly 
know  how  to  blame.  If  his  first  attempts  to  set  a  pre- 
suming dunce  right  were  ill  received,  he  changed  his  tone, 
*  assented  with  civil  leer,'  and  lured  the  flattered  coxcomb 
deeper  and  deeper  into  absurdity.  That  such  was  his 
practice  we  should,  we  think,  have  guessed  from  his 
works." 

Style 

"Macaulay's  style  was  like   Pope's  .  .  .  artificial  by 
nature  ,•  deficient  in  flexibility  and  compass,  as  inferior  to 


Macaulay's  "An  Essay  on  Addison-'         17 

Burke  as  Pope  was  to  Dryden ;  below  Johnson  in  elegance, 
and  below  Hume  in  combination  of  strength,  polish,  and 
simplicity,  he  had  something  which  all  three  wanted,  and 
has  in  consequence  had  a  thousand  readers  for  every  one 
of  theirs.  .  .  .  No  one  of  these  writers  ever  leaves  us  at 
a  loss  for  his  meaning,  but  they  do  not  pointedly  call 
attention  to  it.  .  .  .  We  cannot  read  a  page  of  his  work 
without  finding  ourselves  continually  laying  stress  upon 
particular  words,  whether  we  will  or  no.  To  such  perfec- 
tion has  he  carried  this  practice  that  he  seldom  or  never 
stands  in  need  of  italics,  and  his  argument  remains  im- 
pressed upon  the  mind  like  a  clearly  marked  tune  upon 
the  memory.  So  much  indeed  is  this  the  case  that  in  his 
later  writings  his  style  not  unfrequently  degenerates  into 
a  mere  jig."  T.  E.  Kebbel. 


A    BRIEF   OUTLINE    OF   MORLEY'S 
"MACAULAY"! 

Author 

John  Morley 

Born    1838  Living   1904 

Occasion 

"  At  this  moment  we  are  all  looking  for  the  biography 
of  an  illustrious  man  of  letters  [Lord  Macaulay]"  (1876.) 

Purpose 

"  Before  taking  up  Mr.  Trevelyan's  two  volumes,  it  is 
perhaps  worth  while  ...  to  ask  ourselves  shortly  what 
kind  of  significance  or  value  belongs  to  Lord  Macaulay's 
achievements,  and  to  what  place  he  has  a  claim  among 
the  forces  of  English  Literature." 

1  This  essay  should  be  read  to  correct  the  impression  made  by  reading 
the  "  Milton  "  and  the  "  Addison."  Immature  students  who  read  these 
are  often  led  by  the  enormous  vigor  and  the  absolute  lucidity  of  Macau- 
lay  to  overvalue  his  style.  While  Mr.  Morley,  perhaps,  tends  to  some 
degree  to  the  other  extreme,  his  estimate  is  pretty  nearly  in  accord  ■mith 
that  of  the  best  critics  of  to-day.  It  should  be  said,  however,  that  there 
is  a  tendency  at  present  to  place  Macaulay  in  a  higher  rank  than  that 
which  he  has  seemed  to  hold  for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century. 

18 


Morley's  "  Macaulay"  19 

Point  of  View 

"It  is  seventeen  years  since  he  died  .  .  .  and  [we] 
may  now  think  about  his  work  with  that  perfect  detach- 
ment which  is  impossible  in  th^  case  of  actual  contempo- 
raries." 

Summary 

I.    INTRODUCTION 
This  is  merely  a  statement  of  :  — 
a.  The  occasion.  d.  Purpose.  c.  Point  of  view. 

II.    THE  BODY  OF  THE   ESSAY 
a.   Macaulay's  Popularity. 

1.  Macaulay's  vast  popularity  —  due  more  to  his  style 
than  his  matter. 

2.  He  and  Mill  the  two  masters  of  modern  journalists. 
From  Macaulay  they  have  derived  most  of  their  vices ; 
from  Mill  most  of  their  virtues.     (See  quotations.) 

3.  This  is  not  an  account  of  Macaulay's  own  quality ; 
what  were  virtues  with  him  have  often  degenerated  into 
vices  in  the  hands  of  less  gifted  imitators. 

4.  He  has  set  his  stamp  upon  style  in  its  widest  sense, 
on  what  De  Quincey  described  as  organology ;  hence  his 
immense  influence  on  thought  and  temper. 

d.   Analysis  of  his  Style. 

1.  He  had  a  true  genius  for  narration. 

2.  He  possessed  an  astonishing  copiousness  of  illustra- 
tive facts  and  figures. 


20  Morley's  "  Macaulay" 

3.  His  style  is  before  all  else  the  style  of  great  literary 
knowledge. 

4.  His  work  abounds  in  what  is  substantially  common- 
place. 

5.  He  was  in  exact  accord  with  the  common  average 
sentiment  of  his  day  on  every  subject  on  which  he 
spoke. 

6.  He  was  absolutely  lacking  in  the  spirit  and  power 
of  analysis. 

7.  His  is  the  oratorical  style  —  the  prose  of  spoken 
deliverance  ;  its  merits,  great  force  and  absolute  transpar- 
ency. 

8.  His  geniality  is  not  truly  festive;  it  is  merely  a 
literary  form. 

9.  His  prose  has  a  metallic  hardness  and  brightness. 

10.  Macaulay  compared  to  Carlyle,  to  the  advantage 
of  the  latter. 

11.  Macaulay  abounds  in  harsh  modulations  and 
shallow  cadences. 

12.  These  qualities  compared  to  the  melody  of  Burke's 
prose,  or  the  ease,  smoothness,  and  naturalness  of 
Southey's. 

13.  His  faults  of  intellectual  conscience  :  excess  of 
color,  exaggeration,  etc. 

14.  He  was  sometimes  guilty  of  gross  and  offensive 
vulgarity  of  thought,  {e.g.  an  incident  in  the  "Addison," 
his  treatment  of  Boswell  and  of  Lucretius),  his  strenuous 
superlatives. 


Mor ley's  "  Macaulay"  21 

III.    CONCLUSION 

"  If  we  think  what  a  changed  sense  is  already  given  to 
criticism,  what  a  different  conception  now  presides  over 
history,  how  many  problems  on  which  Macaulay  was  silent 
are  now  the  familiar  puzzles  of  even  superficial  readers, 
we  cannot  help  feeling  that  the  eminent  man,  whose  life  we 
are  all  about  to  read,  is  the  hero  of  a  past  already  remote, 
and  that  he  did  little  to  make  men  better  fitted  to  face  a 
present  of  which,  close  as  it  was  to  him,  he  seems  hardly 
to  have  dreamed." 

Quotations 

"  It  might  perhaps  be  said  of  these  two  distinguished 
men  that  our  public  writers  owe  most  of  their  virtues  to 
the  one,  and  most  of  their  vices  to  the  other.  If  Mill 
taught  some  of  them  to  reason,  Macaulay  tempted  more 
of  them  to  declaim  ;  if  Mill  set  an  example  of  patience, 
tolerance,  and  fair  examination  of  hostile  opinions,  Macau- 
lay did  much  to  encourage  oracular  arrogance  and  a  too 
thrasonical  complacency  ;  if  Mill  sowed  ideas  of  the  great 
economic,  pqlitical,  and  moral  bearings  of  the  forces  of 
society,  Macaulay  trained  a  taste  for  superficial  particu- 
larities, trivial  circumstantialities  of  local  color,  and  all 
the  paraphernaha  of  the  pseudo-picturesque." 

"The  spirit  of  analysis  is  not  in  him,  and  the  divine 
spirit  of  meditation  is  not  in  him.  His  whole  mind  runs 
in  action  and  movement ;  it  busies  itself  with  eager  inter- 
est in  all  objective  particulars.      He  is  seized  by  the 


22  Morley's  "  Macaulay" 

external  and  the  superficial,  and  revels  in  every  detail 
that  appeals  to  the  five  senses." 

"[The  reader]  will  be  astonished  to  see  how  large  a 
portion  of  the  wide  historic  realm  is  traversed  in  that 
ample  flight  of  reference,  allusion,  and  illustration,  and 
what  unsparing  copiousness  of  knowledge  gives  sub- 
stance, meaning,  and  attraction  to  that  resplendent  blaze 
of  rhetoric." 

"  We  are  always  quite  sure  that  if  Macaulay  had  been 
an  Athenian  toward  the  ninety-fifth  Olympiad,  he  would 
have  taken  sides  with  Anytus  and  Meletus  in  the  impeach- 
ment of  Socrates." 

"  He  seeks  Truth,  not  as  she  should  be  sought,  devoutly, 
tentatively,  and  with  the  air  of  one  touching  the  hem  of  a 
sacred  garment,  but  clutching  her  by  the  hair  of  the  head 
and  dragging  her  after  him  in  a  kind  of  boisterous  triumph, 
a  prisoner  of  war  and  not  a  goddess." 

"  A  writer  who  is  trenchant  in  every  sentence  of  every 
page,  who  never  lapses  for  a  single  line  into  the  contin- 
gent, who  marches  through  the  intricacies  of  things  in  a 
blaze  of  certainty,  is  not  only  a  writer  to  be  distrusted, 
but  the  owner  of  a  doubtful  and  displeasing  style.  It  is  a 
great  test  of  style  to  watch  how  an  author  disposes  of  the 
qualifications,  limitations,  and  exceptions  that  clog  the 
wings  of  his  main  proposition.  .  .  .  Macaulay  dispatches 
all  qualifications  into  outer  space  before  he  begins  to  write, 
or  if  he  magnanimously  admits  one  or  two  here  and  there, 


Mor ley's  "  Macaulay  ".  23 

it  is  only  to  bring  them  the  more  imposingly  to  the  same 
murderous  end." 

Style 

No  living  British  author  is  more  eminently  fitted  to  give 
a  correct  estimate  of  Macaulay  and  Macaulay's  style  than 
John  Morley.  Like  Macaulay,  he  is  not  only  a  critic,  a 
historian,  and  an  all-round  man  of  letters,  but  also  a 
practical  statesman.  It  goes  without  saying  that  he  has 
tried  to  avoid  those  blemishes  of  style  which  he  condemns 
in  Macaulay. 

Below  is  given  a  brief  summary  of  the  qualities  of  his 
style  as  they  appear  in  this  essay. 

1.  Vocabulary  —  characterized  by  copiousness  and 
range.  Words  are  often  paired  to  secure  clearness, 
harmony,  and  force. 

2.  Sentences  —  have  variety,  balance,  swing  and 
cadence,  compactness  and  emphasis. 

3.  Paragraphs  —  are  of  medium  length,  compact,  and 
possess  coherence  and  unity. 

4.  Both  paragraphs  and  sentences  are  frequently 
paired  antithetically. 

5.  Figures,  especially  of  similarity  and  contrast,  are 
abundant. 

6.  Morley's  faults  are  that  his  copiousness  sometimes 
runs  into  redundancy,  and  his  efforts  to  be  picturesque 
sometimes  result  in  mixed  metaphors. 


A  BRIEF  OUTLINE  OF  CARLYLE'S 
"AN  ESSAY  ON  BURNS" 

Author 

Thomas  Carlyle 

Born  I'jg^       Died  i88i 

Occasion 

The  pubUcation  of  Lockhart's  "  Life  of  Burns." 

Purpose 

To  give  a  new  estimate  of  Burns  as  a  man  and  as  a  poet. 

Point  of  View 

That  of  a  Scotch  prose  writer  dealing  with  the  life  and 
writings  of  a  Scotch  poet. 

The  lives  of  Burns  and  Carlyle  had  many  points  of 
similarity.  They  were  born  and  reared  in  the  same 
region  and  in  about  the  same  grade  of  society ;  both 
were  ambitious  for  literary  fame ;  both  had  a  long  and 
hard  struggle  for  recognition  ;  and  both,  during  the  early 
part  of  their  careers,  felt  themselves  neglected.  When 
this  essay  was  written,  Carlyle  had  barely  secured  a  foot- 
hold among  publishers,  and  was  comparatively  unknown. 
All  this  made  him  a  peculiarly  fit  person  to  give  a  sympa- 

24 


Carlyle's  "An  Essay  on  Burns"  25 

thetic  estimate  of  the  character,  if  not  of  the  works,  of 
Burns.  With  all  its  faults,  this  essay  remains  to  this  day 
an  authority. 

Summary 
I.     INTRODUCTION 

1.  A  man  of  genius  frequently  during  his  lifetime  asks 
for  bread  and  receives  a  stone  ;  but  there  is  generally  a 
posthumous  retribution  (compensation). 

2.  Lockhart's  Life  —  too  early  to  measure  Burns  by 
any  true  standard. 

3.  Former  biographers.  Discussion  of  Dr.  Currie's 
and  Mr.  Walker's  biographies  of  Burns. 

4.  Lockhart's,  with  all  its  deficiencies,  gives  more 
insight  into  the  true  character  of  Burns  than  any  prior 
biography, 

5.  The  problem  of  Bums'  biography  is  far  from  being 
adequately  solved. 

II.     BODY  OF  THE  ESSAY 
I 

6.  Notwithstanding  the  difificulties  under  which  he 
labored,  Burns  was  a  true  British  poet,  and  one  of  the 
most  considerable  British  men  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

7.  Bums  was  a  man  of  Titanic  genius.  It  is  not  chiefly 
as  a  poet,  but  as  a  man,  that  Burns  interests  and  affects  us. 

8.  Through  life  he  enacted  a  tragedy,  and  that  one 
of  the  deepest. 

9.  To  the  ill-starred  Burns  was  given  the  power  of 


26  Carlyle's  " An  Essay  on  Burns" 

making  man's  life  more  venerable,  but  that  of  wisely 
guiding  his  own  was  not  given. 

II 

10.  The  real  worth  of  his  poetry  attested  by  its  wide 
and  increasing  popularity. 

1 1 .  The  excellence  of  Burns  is  based  upon  his  Sincerity, 
his  indisputable  air  of  Truth. 

12.  This  principle  of  Sincerity  and  Truth  is  easy  to 
discover  but  hard  to  apply.     Example,  Byron. 

13.  No  man,  not  even  Burns,  is  wholly  unaffected  : 
witness  his  Letters. 

14.  Burns'  poetry  has  another  peculiar  merit ;  this 
displays  itself  in  his  indifference  as  to  subjects,  and  the 
power  he  has  of  making  all  subjects  interesting. 

15.  For  the  true  poet,  the  elements  of  his  art  are  in 
him  and  around  him  on  every  hand. 

16.  In  this  respect  Burns  shows  himself  at  least  a 
poet  of  Nature's  own  making ;  and  Nature,  after  all,  is 
still  the  grand  agent  in  making  poets. 

17.  Every  genius  is  an  impossibihty  till  he  appears: 
it  is  not  the  material,  but  the  workman,  that  is  wanting. 

18.  A  certain  rugged,  sterling  worth  pervades  whatever 
Bums  has  written. 

19.  Some  examples  of  this  are  given,  especially  of  his 
graphic,  descriptive  power. 

20.  Burns  is  not  more  distinguished  by  the  clearness 
than  by  the  impetuous  force  of  his  conceptions. 


Carlyle's  "An  Essay  on  Burns"  27 

21.  A  resolute  force  is  ever  visible  in  his  judgments  and 
in  his  feelings  and  volitions. 

22.  The  intellectual  gifts  of  Burns  were  fine  as  well  as 
strong. 

23.  A  quotation  gives  an  instance  of  this. 

24.  In  the  Poetry  of  Burns  keenness  of  insight  keeps 
pace  with  keenness  of  feeling ;  his  light  is  not  more  per- 
vading than  his  warmth.    Burns,  indeed,  lives  in  sympathy. 

25.  The  Indignation  which  makes  verses  is,  properly 
speaking,  an  inverted  Love,  —  the  love  of  some  right, 
some  worth,  some  goodness  which  has  been  injured. 

26.  Burns'  power  to  express  indignation  is  of  a  high 
order. 

27.  "  Bannockburn  "  is  the  best  war  ode  ever  written 
by  any  pen. 

28.  "  Macpherson's  Farewell,"  another  storm ful  Song, 
dwells  in  our  ear  and  mind  with  a  strange  tenacity. 

29.  In  Burns  there  are  traits  of  Humor  as  fine  as  that 
of  Sterne  ;  yet  altogether  different,  original,  peculiar. 

Ill 

30.  "  Tam  o'  Shanter "  is  not  so  much  a  poem  as  a 
piece  of  sparkHng  rhetoric. 

31.  "The  Jolly  Beggars"  is  the  most  strictly  poetical 
of  all  his  works. 

TV 

32.  By  far  the  most  finished,  complete,  and  truly  in- 
spired pieces  of  Bums  are  to  be  found  among  his  Songs. 


28  Carlyle's  "An  Essay  on  Burns'' 

33.  They  are  actually  and  of  themselves  music.  He 
is  the  first  of  all  our  Song-writers. 

34.  Burns'  chief  influence  as  an  author  will  ultimately 
be  found  to  depend  upon  his  Songs, 

35.  The  great  influence  of  Burns  upon  Scottish  litera- 
ture is  shown  by  its  remarkable  increase  of  nationality. 

36.  For  a  long  time  after  Scotland  became  British  we 
had  no  Literature. 

37.  Our  chief  literary  men  no  longer  live  among  us 
like  a  French  Colony,  or  some  knot  of  Propaganda 
Missionaries. 

V 

38.  Burns'  life  is  more  interesting  than  his  works. 

39.  There  is  but  one  era  in  the  life  of  Burns,  and  that 
the  earliest ;  for  to  the  last  moment  he  cannot  reach  the 
only  true  happiness  of  a  man,  that  of  clear,  decided 
Activity  in  the  sphere  for  which,  by  nature  and  circum- 
stances, he  has  been  fitted  and  appointed. 

40.  This  is  not  said  in  dispraise  of  Burns ;  this  bless- 
ing is  not  given  soonest  to  the  best. 

41.  The  early  life  of  Burns:  a  little  schooling  might 
have  changed  the  whole  course  of  British  Literature, 

42.  Burns,  like  many  another,  sowed  his  wild  oats. 
Was  it  necessary  ? 

43.  By  means  of  religious  controversy,  Burns  awakened 
in  his  mind  scruples  about  Religion  itself. 

44.  Burns'  appearance  among  the  sages  and  nobles 
of  Edinburgh  was  almost  like  the  appearance  of  some 


Carlyle's  "An  Essay  on  Burns"  29 

Napoleon  among  the  crowned  sovereigns  of  modern 
Politics. 

45.  Lockhart's  account  of  it :  "He  manifested  in  the 
whole  strain  of  his  conversation  a  most  thorough  convic- 
tion, that  in  the  society  of  the  most  eminent  men  of  his 
nation  he  was  exactly  where  he  was  entitled  to  be." 

46-51.  Scott's  reminiscence  of  it:  "I  never  saw  a 
man  in  company  with  his  superiors  in  station  or  informa- 
tion more  perfectly  free  from  either  the  reality  or  the 
affectation  of  embarrassment." 

52.  This  visit  had  a  bad  effect  upon  Burns.     From 
this  time  a  jealous,  indignant  fear  of  social  degradation  • 
takes  possession  of  him. 

53.  It  maddened  his  heart  still  more  with  the  fever  of 
worldly  Ambition. 

54.  The  Farm  and  Excise  scheme :  It  was  no 
failure  of  external  means,  but  of  internal,  that  overtook 
Burns. 

55.  He  begins  well.  Had  the  "patrons  of  genius" 
but  let  him  alone  ! 

56.  These  men  were,  as  we  believe,  proximately  the 
cause  of  his  ruin. 

57.  He  comes  into  collision  with  certain  official  Supe- 
riors ;  his  character  before  the  world  begins  to  suffer ; 
calumny  is  busy  with  him. 

58.  An  account  of  his  social  ostracism  is  quoted. 

59.  Yet  Burns  and  those  fine  ladies  and  gentlemen 
now  sleep  peacefully  side  by  side  ! 


30  Carlyle's  "An  Essay  on  Burns" 

60.  It  was  not  now  to  be  hoped  that  the  genius  of 
Burns  would  ever  reach  its  full  maturity. 

61.  Nature  could  only  for  a  limited  time  maintain  this 
dark  and  maddening  warfare  against  the  world  and  itself; 
so  he  passed,  not  softly  yet  speedily,  into  that  still  country 
where  hail-storms  and  fire  showers  do  not  reach,  and  the 
heaviest-laden  wayfarer  at  length  lays  down  his  load  ! 


III.    CONCLUSION 

62.  It  seems  dubious  whether  the  richest,  the  wisest, 
the  most  benevolent  individual  could  have  lent  Burns  any 
effectual  help. 

63.  Nor  do  we  accuse  the  higher  ranks  among  us  of 
having  ruined  Burns  by  their  selfish  neglect  of  him  ;  yet 
something  might  have  been  done. 

64.  Nor  does  the  blame  of  Burns'  failure  lie  chiefly 
with  the  world  :  it  has  ever  shown  but  small  favor  to  its 
teachers. 

65.  The  blame  lies  with  himself. 

66.  The  chief  error  of  Burns  was  the  want  of  unity  in 
his  purposes,  of  consistency  in  his  aims. 

67.  Nor  was  his  poverty  the  cause;  others  have  been 
even  worse  off  and  succeeded. 

68.  These  others  had  a  true,  deep,  religious  principle 
of  morals  ;  and  a  single  aim. 

69.  Part  of  this  superiority  these  men  owed  to  their 
age. 


Carlyle's  "An  Essay  on  Burns"  31 

70.  Burns  loved  poetry  warmly  but  not  purely  :  there- 
fore he  failed  of  his  highest  development. 

71.  He  attempted  to  divide  his  time  between  poetry 
and  rich  men's  banquets. 

72.  Wealth  can  neither  make  poetry  nor  make  poets 
happy.     They  cannot  serve  God  and  Mammon. 

73.  Byron  and  Burns  :  He  who  would  write  heroic 
poems  must  make  his  whole  life  a  heroic  poem. 

74.  The  public  moral  character  of  Burns  :  he  was  not 
guiltier  than  the  average. 

75.  His  Works,  even  as  they  are,  will  not  pass  away 
from  the  memory  of  men. 

Note. — The  structure  of  this  Essay  is  irregular ;  the  paragraphs 
are  loosely  connected ;  the  paragraphs  themselves  are  lacking  in 
unity  and  coherence  ;  the  sentences  are  so  "  loose  "  as  to  seem  on 
the  point  of  falling  apart. 

This  makes  it  almost  impossible  to  give  any  sort  of  an  analysis 
of  it.  I  have,  therefore,  chosen,  where  it  seemed  possible,  a  sen- 
tence from  each  paragraph  which  seemed  to  give  at  least  an  im- 
portant part  of  the  sense  of  the  paragraph,  and  to  agree  in  meaning 
with  the  purport  of  the  whole  essay.  I  believe  that  one  reading 
over  this  outline  will  get  practically  all  that  is  contained  in  it.  I 
have  not  thought  it  best  to  distinguish  the  exact  words  of  the 
author  from  the  few  which  I  have  added. 

Quotations 

"  It  is  on  his  Songs,  as  we  believe,  that  Bums'  chief 
influence  as  an  author  will  ultimately  be  found  to  depend  : 
nor,  if  our  Fletcher's  aphorism  is  true,  shall  we  account 


32  Carlyle's  "An  Essay  on  Burns  ' 

this  a  small  influence.  '  Let  me  make  the  songs  of  a 
people,'  said  he,  '  and  you  shall  make  its  laws.'  Surely, 
if  ever  any  Poet  might  have  equalled  himself  with  Legis- 
lators on  this  ground,  it  was  Burns.  His  Songs  are  already 
part  of  the  mother-tongue,  not  of  Scotland  only  but  of 
Britain,  and  of  the  millions  that  in  all  ends  of  the  earth 
speak  a  British  language.  In  hut  and  hall,  as  the  heart 
unfolds  itself  in  many-colored  joy  and  woe  of  existence, 
the  name,  the  voice  of  that  joy  and  that  wo^,  is  the  name 
and  voice  which  Burns  has  given  them.  Strictly  speaking, 
perhaps  no  British  man  has  so  deeply  affected  the  thoughts 
and  feelings  of  so  many  men,  as  this  solitary  and  altogether 
private  individual,  with  means  apparendy  the  humblest. 

"  In  another  point  of  view,  moreover,  we  incline  to  think 
that  Burns'  influence  may  have  been  considerable  :  we 
mean,  as  exerted  specially  on  the  Literature  of  his  country, 
at  least  on  the  Literature  of  Scotland.  Among  the  great 
changes  which  British,  particularly  Scotch  Literature,  has 
undergone  since  that  period,  one  of  the  greatest  will  be 
found  to  consist  in  its  remarkable  increase  of  nationality. 

"  For  a  long  period  after  Scotland  became  British,  we 
had  no  Literature.  .  .  .  With  Sir  Walter  Scott  at  the 
head  of  our  Literature,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  much  of 
this  evil  is  past,  or  rapidly  passing  away  :  our  chief  literary 
men,  whatever  other  faults  they  may  have,  no  longer  live 
among  us  like  a  French  Colony,  or  some  knot  of  Propa- 
ganda Missionaries ;  but  like  natural-born  subjects  of  the 


Carlyle's  "An  Essay  on  Burns"  33 

soil,  partaking  and  sympathizing  in  all  our  attachments, 
humors  and  habits.  Our  literature  no  longer  grows  in 
water  but  in  mold,  and  witli  the  true  racy  virtues  of  the 
soil  and  climate.  How  much  of  this  change  may  be  due 
to  Burns,  or  to  any  other  individual,  it  might  be  difficult 
to  estimate." 

Style 

"  These  essays  on  Burns  and  Scott  are  two  sermons  on 
life,  ofien  rambling,  always  full  of  repetition,  saying,  in 
Carlyle's  way,  what  another  man  of  equal  genius  and 
power  could  have  said  as  vigorously,  but  more  clearly  and 
simply,  therefore  better,  in  half  the  number  of  words.  But 
that  other  man  of  equal  genius  and  power,  wherever  he 
may  be,  has  not  written  an  essay  upon  Burns.  We  must 
take  Carlyle  as  he  is,  learn  to  distinguish,  as  Jeffrey  did, 
between  differences  that  are  radical  and  those  which  are 
only  formal.  Carlyle's  style  was  his  own  ;  in  these  essays, 
perhaps,  only  incipient  Carlylese ;  his  genius  and  his 
earnest  right-minded  struggle  with  the  problems  of  the 
life  of  man  were  his  own  also.  The  readers  of  these 
essays  should  draw  near  their  writer,  mind  to  mind,  soul 
to  soul,  live  with  him  his  best  life  while  they  read  the 
rhetoric  that,  always  right-minded  and  often  joined  to 
strains  of  highest  eloquence,  sometimes  confuses  alike 
writer  and  reader.  I  doubt  very  much  whether,  after 
having  written  his  essay  on  Burns,  Carlyle  clearly  knew 
whether  he  had  or  had  notineant  to  say  that  Burns  should 
have  chosen  between  Ellisland  and  Alount  Parnassus. 


34  Carlyle's  "An  Essay  on  Burns" 

Sometimes  we  seem  to  be  clearly  told  that  he  should  have 
given  himself  up  to  the  Muses  and  made  poetry  his  only 
calling.  At  other  times  we  are  told  that  he  could  not  be 
other  than  he  was.  Carlyle,  on  the  whole,  preaches  with 
deep  earnestness  the  truth  as  it  is  in  man.  A  hint  in  the 
facts  of  any  life  may  set  him  off  on  a  new  burst  of  homily, 
and  though  all  the  winds  blow  health,  they  do  not  all  blow 
in  the  same  direction"  Henry  Morley. 

"  There  is  in  Carlyle's  fiercer  and  more  serious  passages 
a  fiery  glow  of  enthusiasm  or  indignation,  in  his  lighter 
ones  a  quaint  felicity  of  unexpected  humor,  in  his  exposi- 
tions a  vividness  of  presentment,  in  his  arguments  a  sledge- 
hammer force,  all  of  which  are  not  to  be  found  together 
anywhere  else,  and  none  of  which  is  to  be  found  anywhere 
in  quite  the  same  form.  And  despite  the  savagery,  both 
of  his  indignation  and  his  laughter,  there  is  no  greater 
master  of  tenderness.  Wherever  he  is  at  home,  and  he 
seldom  wanders  far  from  it,  the  weapon  of  Carlyle  is  like 
none  other,  —  it  is  the  very  sword  of  Goliath," 

Saintsbury. 

"  For  ordinary  purposes  Carlyle's  style  is  as  bad  as  it 
can  be.  His  only  excuse  for  capitahzing  many  of  the 
words  he  does  is  his  desire  to  make  words  seem  to  mean 
more  than  ordinarily  they  do  mean.  His  words  seem  to 
come  with  the  utmost  difficulty,  and  indeed  we  read  that 
writing  with  him  was  a  constant  pain.  He  appears  con- 
stantly to  violate  his  own  theory  as  expressed  in  '  Char- 


Carlyle's  "An  Essay  on  Burns"  35 

acteristics,'  that  Art  should   be   unconscious,  for  in  his 
writings  he  is  often  too  painfully  conscious. 

"  We  can  understand  Carlyle's  style  only  when  we  con- 
sider its  object.  He  was  a  preacher,  and  it  was  his  mis- 
sion to  compel  the  attention  of  men  to  thoughts  and  duties 
he  knew  they  would  be  very  loath  to  give  heed  to.  Odd- 
ity, mystery,  abruptness,  a  dictatorial  tone  under  such 
conditions,  are  not  only  justifiable,  but  necessary.  They 
constitute  the  best  art.  So  long  as  they  are  not  a  mere 
affectation,  but  are  the  sign-symbol  of  a  great  utterance 
and  a  high  duty,  they  are  but  the  means  of  gaining  the 
attention  without  which  the  whole  communication  of 
thought  would  have  proved  fruitless."  Cody. 


A    BRIEF    OUTLINE    OF   IRVING'S 
"RURAL    LIFE    IN    ENGLAND" 

Author 

Washington  Irving 

Born  1783  Died  1859' 

Occasion 

living's  visit  to  England. 

Purpose  I 

To  exhibit  English  life  and  character  as  they  appeared 
to  him. 

Point  of  View 

■  That  of  a  cultivated  American. 

Summary 
I.    INTRODUCTION 

1.  A  correct  opinion  cannot  be  formed  from  life  in 
London  —  must  visit  the  country  also. 

2.  London  a  mere  gathering  place  for  polite  classes 

a  part  of  the  year. 

II.     BODY 

1.  Feeling  for  rural  life  inherent  in  the  English. 

2.  Englishman  in  town  presents  an  unfavorable  side 
of  his  character. 

36 


Irving' s  "Rural  Life  in  England"  37 

3.  In  the  country,  the  Englishman  gives  scope  to  his 
natural  feeUngs. 

4.  English  taste  for  landscape  gardening  unrivaled. 

5.  Magnificence  of  Enghsh  park  scenery. 

6.  The  rudest  habitation  becomes  a  little  paradise. 

7.  Due  to  residence  of  people  of  fortune  and  refine- 
ment in  the  country. 

8.  Salutary  effect  on  national  character. 

9.  Nothing  mean  and  debasing  in  rural  occupation, 

10.  Hence  the  rural  feeling  that  pervades  British 
literature. 

11.  Effect  upon  face  of  the  country  wonderful. 

12.  The  great  charm  of  English  scenery  is  the  moral 
feeling  that  pervades  it. 

13.  A  rural  church  is  a  pleasant  sight  on  Sunday 
morning. 

III.     CONCLUSION 

'■  It  is  this  sweet  home  feeling,  this  settled  repose  of 
affection  in  the  domestic  scene,  that  is,  after  all,  the 
parent  of  the  steadiest  virtues  and  purest  enjoyments." 

Quotations 

"  In  rural  occupation  there  is  nothing  mean  and  debas- 
ing. It  leads  a  man  forth  among  scenes  of  natural  gran- 
deur and  beauty  ;  it  leaves  him  to  the  workings  of  his  own 
mind,  operated  upon  by  the  purest  and  most  elevating 
of  external  influences.  Such  a  man  may  be  simple  and 
rough,  but  he  cannot  be  vulgar." 


38  Irving' s  "Rural  Life  in  England"^ 

"The  pastoral  writers  of  other  countries  appear  as  if 
they  had  paid  Nature  an  occasional  visit  and  become 
acquainted  with  her  general  charms  ;  but  the  British  poets 
have  lived  and  revelled  with  her  —  they  have  wooed  her 
in  her  most  secret  haunts — they  have  watched  her  mi- 
nutest caprices.  A  spray  could  not  tremble  in  the  breeze 
—  a  leaf  could  not  rustle  to  the  ground  —  a  diamond 
drop  could  not  patter  in  the  stream  —  a  fragrance  could 
not  exhale  from  the  humble  violet,  nor  a  daisy  unfold  its 
crimson  tints  to  the  morning,  but  it  has  been  noticed  by 
these  impassioned  and  delicate  observers,  and  wrought 
up  into  some  beautiful  morality." 

Style 

This  essay  exhibits  coherence,  unity,  grace,  charm,  and 
hints  at  pathos,  but  shows  no  trace  of  that  quiet  humor 
which  often  pervades  his  work. 

Irving's  chief  faults  were  a  tendency  to  sentimentality 
and  to  an  oveigraciousness  of  style  that  sometimes  of- 
fends by  its  apparent  artificiality.  This  tendency  is  barely 
discernible  in  this  essay.  Rural  life  is  not  quite  all  he 
paints  it  to  be. 

His  use  of  words  and  handling  of  sentences  give  to 
his  work  that  inimitable  charm  which  escapes  analysis. 


A  BRIEF  OUTLINE  OF  THE  LAST 
CHAPTER  OF  STEVENSON'S  "AMA- 
TEUR   EMIGRANT" 

Author 

Robert  Louis  Stevenson 

Born  1850       Died  1894 

Occasion 

His  trip  across  the  Atlantic  as  a  steerage  passenger. 

Purpose 

To  sum  up  that  experience  in  attractive  literary  form. 

Point  of  View 
That  of  an  English  gentleman. 

Summary 

I.     INTRODUCTION 

Travel  of  two  kinds  —  out  of  one's  country  —  out  of 
one's  social  class. 

39 


40  Stevenson's  "Amateur  Emigrant'' 

II.     BODY 

1.  I  had  .  .  .  fallen  in  life  with  absolute  success  and 
verisimilitude  —  a  mere  steerage  passenger. 

2.  To  the  saloon  passengers,  also,  I  sustained  my 
part  without  a  hitch. 

3.  With  the  women  also — previous  experience — was 
precisely  the  average  man  of  the  steerage. 

4.  To  the  officers  I  appeared  in  the  light  of  a  broad 
joke  —  because  I  wrote  much. 

5.  My  choice  of  a  roosting  place  —  an  eccentricity. 

6.  On  the  whole  my  new  position  sat  lightly  and 
naturally  upon  my  spirits  —  greedy  for  small  delicacies. 

7.  Steerage  passengers  —  manners  as  gentle  and  be- 
coming as  those  of  any  other  class  —  difference  of  usage 
—  point  of  view  —  gallery  boxes. 

8.  Some  of  my  fellow-passengers  .  .  .  seemed  excellent 
gentlemen  —  in  steerage  as  in  saloon  there  is  a  mixture. 

9.  Political  bhndness  no  distinction  —  all  are  so  ;  one 
political  question  —  money. 

10.  Some  poor  under  any  circumstances. 

11.  Surprising  idleness  of  average  workman  —  candor 
with  which  he  confesses  it. 

12.  Story  of  the  "  tapper." 

13.  Skulking,  shirking,  malingering  —  established  tac- 
tics. 

14.  Workingmen  good  talkers. 

15.  His  talk   more   interesting  —  because   more   ele- 
mental. 


Stevenson's  "Amateur  Emigrant''  41 

Conclusion 

"The  difference  between  England  and  America  to  a 
workingman  was  thus  most  humanly  put  to  me  by  a 
fellow- passenger :  '  In  America,'  said  he,  '  you  get  pies 
and  puddings.'  I  do  not  hear  enough  in  economy  books 
about  pies  and  puddings.  A  man  lives  in  and  for  the 
delicacies,  adornments,  and  accidental  attributes  of  life, 
such  as  pudding  to  eat  and  pleasant  books  and  theaters 
to  occupy  his  leisure.  The  bare  terms  of  existence  would 
be  rejected  with  contempt  by  all.  .  ,  .  There  is  more 
adventure  in  the  life  of  a  workingman  who  descends  as 
a  common  soldier  into  the  battle  of  life,  than  in  that  of  a 
millionaire  who  sits  apart  in  an  office,  like  Von  Moltke, 
and  only  directs  the  maneuvers  by  telegraph.  Give  me 
to  hear  about  the  career  of  him  who  is  in  the  thick  of 
the  business ;  to  whom  one  change  of  market  means  an 
empty  belly,  and  another  a  copious  and  savory  meal." 

Quotations 

"  Culture  is  not  measured  by  the  greatness  of  the  field 
which  is  covered  by  our  knowledge,  but  by  the  nicety 
with  which  we  can  perceive  relations  in  that  field,  whether 
great  or  small." 

"  The  cause  of  everything  in  England  was  the  form  of 
government,  and  the  cure  for  all  evils  was,  by  consequence, 
a  revolution." 

"  They  would  not  hear  of  improvement  on  their  part, 
but  wished  the  world  made  over  again  in  a  crack,  so  that 


42  Stevenson's  "Amateur  Emigrant''' 

they  might  remain  improvident  and  idle  and  debauched, 
and  yet  enjoy  the  comfort  and  respect  that  should  accom- 
pany the  opposite  virtues ;  and  it  was  ih  this  expectation, 
as  far  as  I  could  see,  that  many  of  them  were  now  on 
their  way  to  America." 

Style 

Stevenson's  use  of  words  has  the  following  striking 
characteristics  :  — 

1.  Plain  homely  phrasing  (without  a  hitch  —  humble 
rig,  etc.). 

2.  Pairing  of  words  (success  and  verisimilitude,  etc.). 

3.  New   combinations    of  common   wotds  giving  an 
antique  flavor  (a  mere  common  human  man). 

4.  Intentional  oddness  of  phrasing  (engaged  upon  a 
roof). 

5.  Slight  but  pleasing  redundancy  arising  largely  from 
pairing. 

Stevenson's  sentences  exhibit :  — 

1.  Calm  dehberateness  (note  effect  of  the  abundance 
of  compound  sentences). 

2.  Simplicity  of  structure. 

3.  Antique  effect. 

4.  Remarkable  uniformity  of  length  (average  25+). 

Style  characterized  by  simplicity,  dehberateness,  fresh- 
ness of  view,  antique  touch.  (^Adapted  from  Brewster.') 


A   BRIEF    OUTLINE    OF   WEBSTER'S 
"BUNKER   HILL   ORATION" 

Author 

Daniel  Webster 

Bom  1782  Died  1852 

Occasion 

Laying  the  cornerstone  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument. 

Purpose 
To  urge  love  for  and  the  preservation  of  the  Union. 

Point  of  View 
That  of  an  American  statesman  —  a  Unionist. 

Analysis 
I.     INTRODUCTION 

1 .  The  feeling  excited  — 
(a)  By  the  occasion. 

{b)  By  the  local  associations. 

2.  Our  feeling  of  personal  interest  in  the  history  of 
this  continent  — 

id)  Its  discovery. 
ip)  The  English  settlements. 
ic)  The  American  Revolution. 
43  . 


44  Webster's  "Bunker  Hill  Oration'' 

II.     THE   BODY  OF  THE  ADDRESS 
a.  The  Society  and  the  Monument 

1.  The  purpose  of  the  society. 

2.  The  object  of  the  monument. 

b.   Ours  an  Extraordinary  Age 

1.  As  shown  by  the  growth  and  development  of  our 
own  country. 

2.  As  shown  by  a  mighty  revolution  in  Europe  and  in 
South  America. 

3.  As  shown  by  the  general  progress  of  knowledge. 

4.  Connecting  paragraph  :  we  have  some  among  us 
who  were  active  agents  in  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  and 
have  witnessed  all  these  changes. 

c.  The  Address  to  the  Veterans 

1.  Address  to  the  living  veterans. 

2.  Reference  to  their  dead  comrades  —  Prescott,  Put- 
nam, etc. 

3.  Encomium  on  Warren. 

4.  Continuation  of  the  address  to  the  living  veterans. 

d.  The  Battle 
I.    Events  leading  up  to  the  battle  and  its  effects. 


JVebster's  "Bunker  Hill  Oration''  45 

e.     IvAFAYETTE 

I.  Address  to  Lafayette. 

/.   Reflections  on  the  Great  Changes  since  the 
Battle 

1.  Nations  now  participate  in  a  common  progress. 

2.  A  chief  distinction  of  our  age  is  a  community  of 
knowledge  and  ideas. 

3.  Resulting  in  important  improvements  in  the  per- 
sonal condition  of  individuals. 

4.  And  in  political  changes  highly  favorable  to  human 
liberty  and  happiness. 

5.  The  character  of  our  people  admirably  calculated 
for  setting  a  great  example  of  popular  government  — 
moderation  evinced  in  our  Revolution. 

6.  Notwithstanding  excesses  committed  in  other  cases, 
the  results  founded  upon  popular  enlightenment  are  likely 
to  be  permanent. 

7.  Everywhere  there  is  a  demand  for  representative 
government. 

8.  And  a  conviction  that  the  powers  of  government 
are  a  trust  to  be  exercised  for  the  good  of  the  people. 

9.  The  universal  spread  of  enlightenment  makes  pub- 
lic opinion  a  power  for  peace. 

10.    As  shown  in  the  treatment  of  the  Greek  revolution. 

II.  The  South  American  revolution  —  the  growth  of 
enterprise,  intelligence,  and  power  of  the  South  America 
states. 


46  Webster's  "Bunker  Hill  Oration'' 

III.    CONCLUSION 

1.  Let  us  indulge  an  honest  exultation  in  the  convic- 
tion of  the  benefit  produced  by  our  example. 

2.  Our  failure   means  the  knell  of  popular  liberty 
throughout  the  earth. 

3.  In  our  country  any  other  system  is  impossible. 

4.  See  "  Quotations." 

Quotations 

"And  let  the  sacred  obligations  which  have  devolved 
on  this  generation,  and  on  us,  sink  deep  into  our  hearts. 
Those  who  established  our  liberty  and  our  government 
are  daily  dropping  from  among  us.  The  great  trust  now 
descends  to  new  hands.  Let  us  apply  ourselves  to  that 
which  is  presented  to  us,  as  our  appropriate  object.  We 
can  win  no  laurels  in  a  war  for  independence.  Earlier 
and  worthier  hands  have  gathered  them  all.  Nor  are 
there  places  for  us  by  the  side  of  Solon,  and  Alfred,  and 
other  founders  of  states.  Our  fathers  have  filled  them. 
But  there  remains  to  us  a  great  duty  of  defense  and  pres- 
entation ;  and  there  is  opened  to  us,  also,  a  noble  pursuit, 
to  which  the  spirit  of  the  times  strongly  invites  us.  Our 
proper  business  is  improvement.  Let  our  age  be  the  age 
of  improvement.  In  a  day  of  peace,  let  us  advance  the 
arts  of  peace  and  the  works  of  peace.  Let  us  develop 
the  resources  of  our  land,  call  forth  its  powers,  build  up 
its  institutions,  promote  all  its  great  interests,  and  see 
whether  we  also,  in  our  day  and  generation,  may  not  per- 


Webster's  "Bunker  Hill  Oration''  47 

form  something  worthy  to  be  remembered.  Let  us  culti- 
vate a  true  spirit  of  union  and  harmotiy.  In  pursuing 
the  great  objects  which  our  condition  points  out  to  us,  let 
us  act  under  a  settled  conviction,  and  an  habitual  feeling, 
that  these  twenty-four  states  are  one  country.  Let  our 
conceptions  be  enlarged  to  the  circle  of  our  duties.  Let 
us  extend  our  ideas  over  the  whole  of  the  vast  field  in 
which  we  are  called  to  act.  Let  our  object  be,  our  coun- 
try, our  whole  country,  and  nothing  but  our  country. 
And,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  may  that  country  itself  become 
a  vast  and  spletidid  monument,  not  of  oppression  and  ter- 
ror, but  of  Wisdom,  of  Peace,  and  of  Liberty,  upon  which 
the  world  may  gaze  with  admiration  forever  !  " 

Style 

"  In  the  first  Bunker  Hill  oration  Mr.  Webster  touched 
his  highest  point  in  the  difficult  task  of  commemorative 
oratory.  In  that  field  he  not  only  stands  unrivaled,  but 
no  one  has  approached  him.  The  innumerable  produc- 
tions of  this  class  by  other  men,  many  of  a  high  degree 
of  excellence,  are  forgotten,  while  those  of  Webster  form 
part  of  the  education  of  every  American  schoolboy,  are 
widely  read,  and  have  entered  into  the  literature  and 
thought  of  the  country."  Henry  Cabot  Lodge's  "Webster." 

"Who  does  not  rank  him  as  a  great  American  author? 
Against  the  maxim  of  Mr.  Fox  his  speeches  read  well,  and 
yet  were  good  speeches  —  great  speeches  in  delivery.    So 


48  Webster's  "Bunker  Hill  Oration" 

critically  do  they  keep  the  right  side  of  the  line  which 
parts  eloquence  from  rhetoric,  and  so  far  do  they  rise 
above  the  penury  of  mere  debate,  that  the  general  reason 
of  the  country  has  enshrined  them  at  once,  and  forever, 
among  our  classics."         Rufus  Choate's  "  Eulogy  on  Webster." 

"  His  speech  had  strength,  force,  and  dignity ;  his 
composition  was  clear,  rational,  strengthened  by  a  power- 
ful imagination  —  in  his  great  orations  *  the  lightn.ing  of 
passion  running  along  the  iron  links  of  argument.'  The 
one  lesson  which  they  teach  to  the  youth  of  America  is 
self-respect,  a  manly  consciousness  of  power,  expressed 
simply  and  directly  —  to  look  for  the  substantial  qualities 
of  the  thing,  and-  utter  them  distinctly  as  they  are  felt 
intensely.  This  was  the  sum  of  the  art  which  Webster 
used  in  his  orations."  £.  A.  Duyckinck. 

"Webster's  style  is  remarkable  for  clearness  of  state- 
ment. It  is  singularly  emphatic.  It  is  impressive  rather 
than  brilliant,  and  occasionally  rises  to  absolute  grandeur. 
It  is  evidently  formed  on  the  higher  English  models  ;  and 
the  reader  conjectures  his  love  of  Milton -from  the  noble 
simpHcity  of  his  language.  Independent  of  their  logical 
and  rhetorical  merit,  these  orations  are  invaluable  from 
the  nationality  of  their  tone  and  spirit.  They  awaken 
patriotic  reflection  and  sentiment,  and  are  better  adapted 
to  warn,  to  enlighten,  and  to  cheer  the  consciousness  of 
the  citizen,  than  any  American  works,  of  a  didactic  kind, 
yet  produced."  H.  T.  Tuckerman. 


Webster's  "Bunker  Hill  Oration''  49 

"  Not  many  days  ago  I  saw  at  breakfast  the  notablest  of 
all  your  notabilities,  Daniel  Webster.  He  is  a  magnificent 
specimen ;  you  might  say  to  all  the  world,  This  is  your 
Yankee-Englishman ;  such  limbs  we  make  in  Yankee- 
land.  As  a  Logic-fencer,  Advocate,  or  Parliamentary 
^  Hercules,  one  would  incHne  to  back  him  at  first  sight 
against  all  the  extant  world.  The  tanned  complexion, 
that  amorphous  craglike  face;  the  dull  black  eyes  under 
their  precipice  of  brows,  }ike  dull  anthracite  furnaces, 
needing  only  to  be  blown;  the  mastiff- mouth,  accurately 
closed  :  —  I  have  not  seen  so  much  of  silent  Berserker- 
rage,  that  I  remember  of,  in  any  other  man." 

Carlyle  to  Emerson, 


A   BRIEF   OUTLINE   OF    BACON'S    "  ON 
STUDIES  " 

Author 

Francis  Bacon  —  Lord  Verulam 

Born  1 56 1       Died  1626 

Occasion 

Bacon  was  in  the  habit  of  jotting  down  under  appro- 
priate headings  every  clever  sentence  which  he  himself 
thought  of  or  heard  from  others.  In  time,  these  collec- 
tions amounted  to  a  sufficient  number  to  form  brief 
essays.  It  is  probable  that  he  then  undertook  to  re- 
arrange them  in  a  logical  order,  and  that  when  this  had 
been  done,  he  realized  that  these  collections  were  excel- 
lent and  unlike  anything  then  in  existence.  In  1597,  he 
published  them  in  a  small  volume  of  "  Essays."  In  1625, 
he  issued  a  new  enlarged  and  revised  edition. 

Purpose 

The  "essays"  were  not,  at  first, consciously  "composed." 
The  original  "  purpose  "  of  collecting  the  "  apophthegms," 
as  he  called  them,  was  that  he  might  use  them  in  conver- 
sation. Like  many  of  the  scholars  of  the  time,  he  was 
ambitious  to  shine  as  a  conversationalist  and  to  win  fame 

50 


Bacon's  "On  Studies^*  51 

as  an  author.  When  he  saw  the  excellence  of  the  collec- 
tions of  "  apophthegms  "  with  which  he  was  in  the  habit 
of  ornamenting  his  conversation,  he  determined  to  make 
them  win  for  him  the  more  permanent  fame  of  an  author, 
and,  in  publishing  them,  he  invented  the  English  "  essay." 

Point  of  View 

That  of  a  scholarly  English  gentleman  and  man  of  affairs 
of  the  Elizabethan  age. 

Summary  ^ 

"Studies  serve  for  delight,  for  ornament,  and  for  ability. 
.  .  .  They  teach  not  their  own  use,  but  that  is  a  wisdom 
without  them  and  above  them,  won  by  observation." 

"Read  not  to  contradict  and  confute,  nor  to  believe  and 
take  for  granted,  nor  to  find  talk  and  discourse,  but  to 
weigh  and  consider." 

"  Histories  make  men  wise  ;  poets,  witty  ;  the  mathe- 
matics, subtile  ;  natural  philosophy,  deep  ;  moral  philoso- 
phy, grave  ;  logic  and  rhetoric,  able  to  contend." 

Conclusion 
So  every  defect  of  the  mind  may  have  a  special  receipt.^ 

1  This  essay  is  so  condensed,  so  full  of  matter,  that  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible to  give  a  brief  and  satisfactory  summary.  I  have,  therefore,  chosen 
those  sentences  which  seem  to  give  most  nearly  the  general  ideas  of  the 
whole  composition. 

2  There  are  many  versions  of  this  essay,  each  differing  slightly  from 
the  others.    This  sentence  was  taken  from  a  version  not  given  here. 


52  Bacon's  "On  Studies** 

On  Studies 

Studies  serve  for  delight,  for  ornament,  and  for  ability. 
Their  chief  use  for  delight  is  in  the  quiet  of  private  life ; 
for  ornament,  is  in  discourse ;  and  for  ability,  is  in  the 
judgment  and  disposition  of  business ;  for  expert  men 
can  execute  and  perhaps  judge  of  particulars,  one  by 
one  ;  but  the  general  counsels  and  the  plots  and  marshal- 
ing of  affairs  come  best  from  those  that  are  learned. 

To  spend  too  much  time  in  studies  is  sloth ;  to  use  too 
much  for  ornament  is  affectation ;  to  make  judgment 
wholly  by  their  rules  is  the  humor  of  a  scholar.  They 
perfect  nature  and  are  perfected  by  experience,  for  natural 
abilities  are  like  natural  plants  that  need  pruning  by 
study ;  and  studies  themselves  do  give  forth  directions 
too  much  at  large,  except  they  be  bounded  in  by 
experience. 

Crafty  men  contemn  studies,  simple  men  admire  them, 
and  wise  men  use  them ;  for  they  teach  not  their  own 
use,  but  that  there  is  a  wisdom  without  them  and  above 
them,  won  by  observation.  Read  not  to  contradict  and 
to  confute,  nor  to  believe  and  take  for  granted,  nor  to 
find  talk  and  discourse,  but  to  weigh  and  consider. 

Some  books  are  to  be  tasted,  others  to  be  swallowed, 
and  some  few  to  be  chewed  and  digested  —  that  is,  some 
books  are  to  be  read  only  in  parts ;  others  to  be  read,  but 
not  curiously ;  and  some  few  to  be  read  wholly,  and  with 
diligence  and  attention.  Some  books  may  be  read  by 
deputy,  and  extracts  made  of  them  by  others ;  but  that 


Bacon's  "On  St  tidies"  53 

would  be  only  in  less  important  arguments,  and  the 
meaner  sort  of  books ;  else  distilled  books  are,  like  com- 
mon distilled  waters,  flashy  things. 

Reading  maketh  a/u//  man,  conversation  a  ready  man, 
and  writing  an  exacf  man ;  and,  therefore,  if  a  man  write 
little,  he  had  need  have  a  great  memory  ;  if  he  confer  little, 
he  had  need  have  a  present  wit ;  and  if  he  read  little,  he 
had  need  have  much  cunning,  to  seem  to  know  what  he 
doth  not. 

Histories  make  men  wise ;  poets,  witty ;  the  mathe- 
matics, subtile  ;  natural  philosophy,  deep  ;  moral  philoso- 
phy, grave  ;  logic  and  rhetoric,  able  to  contend.  Studies 
pass  into  character :  so  if  a  man's  wit  be  wandering,  let 
him  study  the  mathematics  ;  for  in  demonstrations,  if  his 
wit  be  called  away  ever  so  httle,  he  must  begin  again ;  if 
his  wit  be  not  apt  to  distinguish  or  find  difference,  let 
him  study  the  schoolmen ;  if  he  be  not  apt  to  beat  over 
matters,  and  to  call  up  one  thing  to  prove  and  illustrate 
another,  let  him  study  the  lawyers'  cases.  Indeed  there 
is  no  impediment  in  the  wit  but  may  be  wrought  out  by 
fit  studies,  as  diseases  of  the  body  may,  by  appropriate 
exercises. 

Style 

"  The  merits  of  his  style,  as  of  every  other  style  in  that 
age,  are  variously  estimated.  Addison  praises  his  grace, 
Hume  calls  him  stiff  and  rigid,  and  many  persons  would 
be  unable  to  see  that  either  of  these  criticisms  has  any 
peculiar  application. 


54  Bacon's  "On  Studies" 

"  Bacon's  range  of  subjects  was  wide,  and  his  command 
of  words  within  that  ringe  as  great  as  any  man  could  have 
acquired. 

"  His  sentences  are  shorter  and  more  pointed  [than 
Hooker's],  and  being  comparatively  free  from  pedantic 
inversions,  have  a  more  modern  flow. 

"  [His]  paragraphs  are,  comparatively,  very  good ;  he 
has  a  sense  of  method  and  arrangement."  Minio. 

"  Of  all  EngHsh  prose  writers.  Bacon  is  the  most  con- 
densed. .  .  .  Emerson  was  the  same  sort  of  writer  that 
Bacon  was,  but  he  wrote  in  an  age  when  people  read  too 
hurriedly  and  too  extensively  to  permit  the  classic  brevity 
of  Bacon  to  have  its  just  effect."  Cody. 

"  In  simplicity,  clearness,  and  force,  Bacon  probably 
excelled  any  English  prose  writer  of  his  age,  and  falls 
little  below  the  best  of  any  age." 


A   BRIEF   OUTLINE    OF   LINCOLN'S 
"GETTYSBURG   ADDRESS" 

Author 

Abraham  Lincoln 

Born  1809         Died  April  14,  1865 

Occasion 
The  dedication  of  the  Soldiers'  Cemetery  at  Gettysburg. 

Purpose 

To  urge  the  Northern  people  to  continue  the  war  for 
the  Union  with  new  vigor  and  determination,  —  "  that 
government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the 
people  (should)  not  perish  from  the  earth." 

Point  of  View 

That  of  a  Northern  Union  man  —  a  Republican  of 
the  time  —  intrusted  with  the  highest  interests  of  the 
nation. 

Summary 

I.    INTRODUCTION 

I.   The  ideals  which  created  our  government. 
55 


56  Lincoln's  "  Gettysburg  Address" 

II.    THE    BODY   OF  THE  ADDRESS 

2.   The  present  Civil  War  a  test  of  the  power  and  per- 
manency of  those  ideals. 
■  3.   The  purpose  of  the  meeting. 

4.  We  can  only  confirm  what  has  already  been  accom- 
plished. 

5 .  But  we  can  "  dedicate  ourselves  to  the  yet  unfinished 
work." 

III.    CONCLUSION 

6.  If  we  succeed,  "  government  of  the  people,  by  the 
people,  for  the  people  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth." 

The  Address 

"  Fourscore  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought 
forth  upon  this  continent  a  new  nation,  conceived  in 
Liberty,  and  dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all  men 
are  created  equal. 

"  Now  we  are  engaged  in  a  great  civil  war,  testing 
whether  that  nation,  or  any  nation  so  conceived  and  so 
dedicated,  can  long  endure. 

"  We  are  met  on  a  great  battle  field  of  that  war.  We 
have  come  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  that  field  as  a  final 
resting  place  for  those  who  here  gave  their  lives  that  that 
nation  might  live.  It  is  altogether  fitting  and  proper 
that  we  should  do  this. 

"  But  in  a  larger  sense  we  cannot  dedicate,  we  cannot 
consecrate,  we  cannot  hallow  this  ground.     The  brave 


Lincoln's  "  Gettysburg  Address"  57 

men,  living  and  dead,  who  struggled  here,  have  conse- 
crated it  far  above  our  poor  power  to  add  or  detract. 
The  world  will  little  note,  nor  long  remember,  what  we 
say  here ;  but  it  can  never  forget  what  they  did  here. 

"  It  is  for  us,  the  living,  rather  to  be  dedicated  here  to 
the  unfinished  work  which  they  who  fought  here  have 
thus  far  so  nobly  advanced.  It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here 
dedicated  to  the  great  task  remaining  before  us,  —  that 
from  these  honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to 
that  cause  for  which  they  gave  the  last  full  measure  of 
devotion,  —  that  we  here  highly  resolve  that  these  dead 
shall  not  have  died  in  vain,  that  this  nation,  under  God, 
shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom,  and  that  government 
of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people  shall  not 
perish  from  the  earth." 

Style 

Everything  considered,  this  speech  has  seldom  been 
equaled,  never  surpassed.  Its  simplicity  and  power  are 
beyond  praise.  In  condensation  —  in  fullness  of  thought 
—  it  can  be  compared  only  with  the  essays  of  Bacon,  and 
the  lectures  and  essays  of  Emerson.  Edward  Everett 
read  at  the  same  time  and  place  an  address  forty  pages 
long.  He  was  an  elegant  scholar  and  an  eloquent 
orator,  yet  his  speech  is  seldom  read  or  spoken  of  now. 
Lincoln's  speech  will  be  considered  one  of  the  finest 
gems  of  English  literature  so  long  as  our  nation  endures 
and  our  language  is   heard  upon  the  earth.     Possibly, 


58  Lincoln's  " Gettysburg  Address" 

some  of  its  fame  is  due  to  Lincoln's  position  and  his  sub- 
sequent melancholy  death.  But  assuredly  it  would  hold 
its  rank  as  literature  had  he  been  a  simple  citizen  who 
died  peacefully  in  his  bed. 

Mr.  Lowell,  surely  a  competent  judge,  says  :  "  He  is  so 
eminently  a  representative  man,  that,  when  he  speaks,  it 
seems  as  if  the  people  were  listening  to  their  own  think- 
ing aloud.  The  dignity  of  his  thought  owes  nothing  to 
any  ceremonial  garb  of  words,  but  to  the  manly  move- 
ment that  comes  of  settled  purpose  and  an  energy  of 
reason  that  knows  not  what  rhetoric  means." 

"Washington,  though  in  some  ways  an  even  greater 
man  than  Lincoln,  did  not  have  Lincoln's  wonderful  gift 
of  expression  —  that  gift  which  makes  certain  speeches 
of  the  rail-splitter  from  Illinois  read  like  the  inspired 
utterances  of  the  great  Hebrew  seers  and  prophets.  But 
he  had  all  of  Lincoln's  sound  common  sense,  far-sighted- 
ness, and  devotion  to  a  lofty  ideal.  Like  Lincoln  he 
sought  after  the  noblest  objects,  and  like  Lincoln  he 
sought  after  them  by  thoroughly  practical  methods. 
These  two  greatest  Americans  can  fairly  be  called  the 
best  among  the  great  men  of  the  world,  and  greatest 
among  the  good  men  of  the  world.  Each  showed  in 
actual  practice  his  capacity  to  secure  under  our  system 
the  priceless  union  of  individual  liberty  with  governmental 
strength.  Each  was  as  free  from  the  vices  of  the  tyrant 
as  from  the  vices  of  the  demagogue." 

Theodore  Roosevelt, 


A   BRIEF    OUTLINE   OF    LINCOLN'S 
"SECOND   INAUGURAL   ADDRESS" 

Author 

Abraham  Lincoln 

Born  1809  Died  April  14,  1865 

Occasion 

His  second  inauguration  as  President  of  the  United 
States  (March  4,  1865). 

Purpose 

To  set  forth  the  policy  of  the  coming  administration. 

Point  of  View 

That  of  a  Northern  Union  man  determined  to  carry 
on  the  war  to  a  successful  issue. 

Summary 
I.     INTRODUCTION 

1.  The  course  of  the  government  for  the  past  four 
years  sufficiently  indicates  its  course  in  the  immediate 
future. 

2.  The  military  situation. 

59 


60       Lincoln's  "Second  Inaugural  Address" 

II.     BODY  OF  THE   SPEECH 

3.  Conditions  four  years  ago. 

4.  Comparison  of  the  two  parties  then  existing. 

5.  What  the  end  will  be,  and  how  long  delayed,  God 
alone  can  decide. 

III.    CONCLUSION 

6.  What  remains  to  be  done. 

The  Address 

"  Fellow-countrymen  :  At  this  second  appearing  to 
take  the  oath  of  the  presidential  office  there  is  less  occa- 
sion for  an  extended  address  than  there  was  at  the  first. 
Then  a  statement,  somewhat  in  detail,  of  a  course  to  be 
pursued,  seemed  fitting  and  proper.  Now,  at  the  expi- 
ration of  four  years,  during  which  public  declarations 
have  been  constantly  called  forth  on  every  point  and 
phase  of  the  great  contest  which  still  absorbs  the  atten- 
tion and  engrosses  the  energies  of  the  nation,  little  that 
is  new  could  be  presented. 

"  The  progress  of  our  arms,  upon  which  all  else  chiefly 
depends,  is  as  well  known  to  the  public  as  to  myself; 
and  it  is,  I  trust,  reasonably  satisfactory  and  encouraging 
to  all.  With  high  hope  for  the  future,  no  prediction  in 
regard  to  it  is  ventured. 

"  On  the  occasion  corresponding  to  this,  four  yeai'S 
ago,  all  thoughts  were  anxiously  directed  to  an  impend- 


Lincoln's  "Second  Inaugural  Address''       61 

ing  civil  war.  All  dreaded  it —  all  sought  to  avert  it. 
While  the  inaugural  address  was  being  delivered  from 
this  place,  devoted  altogether  to  saving  the  Union  with- 
out war,  insurgent  agents  were  in  the  city  seeking  to  de- 
stroy it  without  war  —  seeking  to  dissolve  the  Union,  and 
divide  effects,  by  negotiation.  Both  parties  deprecated 
war ;  but  one  of  them  would  make  war  rather  than  let 
the  nation  survive ;  and  the  other  would  accept  war 
rather  than  let  it  perish.     And  the  war  came. 

"  One  eighth  of  the  whole  population  were  colored 
slaves,  not  distributed  generally  over  the  Union,  but  lo- 
calized in  the  Southern  part  of  it.  These  slaves  consti- 
tuted a  peculiar  and  powerful  interest,  All  knew  that 
this  interest  was,  somehow,  the  cause  of  the  war.  To 
strengthen,  perpetuate,  and  extend  this  interest  was  the 
object  for  which  the  insurgents  would  rend  the  Union, 
even  by  war ;  while  the  government  claimed  no  right 
to  do  more  than  to  restrict  the  territorial  enlargement 
of  it.  Neither  party  ekpected  for  the  war  the  magni- 
tude or  the  duration  which  it  has  already  attained. 
Neither  anticipated  that  the  cause  of  the  conflict  might 
cease  with,  or  even  before,  the  conflict  itself  should  cease. 
Each  looked  for  an  easier  triumph,  and  a  result  less  fun- 
damental and  astounding.  Both  read  the  same  Bible, 
and  pray  to  the  same  God ;  and  each  invokes  His  aid 
against  the  other.  It  may  seem  strange  that  any  men 
should  dare  to  ask  a  just  God's  assistance  in  wringing 
their  bread  from  the  sweat  of  other  men's  faces ;  but  let 


62       Lincoln's  "Second  Inaugural  Address'* 

us  judge  not,  that  we  be  not  judged.  The  prayers  of 
both  could  not  be  answered  —  that  of  neither  has  been 
answered  fully. 

"The  Almighty  has  His  own  purposes.  'Woe  unto 
the  world  because  of  offenses  !  for  it  must  needs  be  that 
offenses  come ;  but  woe  to  that  man  by  whom  the  of- 
fense Cometh  ! '  If  we  shall  suppose  that  American  slavery 
is  one  of  these  offenses  which,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
must  needs  come,  but  which,  having  continued  through 
His  appointed  time,  He  now  wills  to  remove,  and  that 
He  gives  to  both  North  and  South  this  terrible  war  as  the 
woe  due  to  those  by  whom  the  offense  came,  shall  we 
discern  therein  any  departure  from  those  divine  attributes 
which  the  believers  in  a  living  God  always  ascribe  to 
Him  ?  Fondly  do  we  hope  —  fervently  do  we  pray  — 
that  this  mighty  scourge  of  war  may  speedily  pass  away. 
Yet,  if  God  wills  that  it  continue  until  all  the  wealth  piled 
by  the  bondman's  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  unre- 
quited toil  shall  be  sunk,  and  until  every  drop  of  blood 
drawn  with  the  lash  shall  be  paid  by  another  drawn  with 
the  sword,  as  was  said  three  thousand  years  ago,  so  still 
it  must  be  said,  '  The  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and 
righteous  altogether.' 

"  With  malice  toward  none  ;  with  charity  for  all ;  with 
firmness  in  the  right,  as  God  gives  us  to  see  the  right,  let 
us  strive  on  to  finish  the  work  we  are  in ,  to  bind  up  the 
nation's  wounds  ;  to  care  for  him  who  shall  have  borne 
the  battle,  and  for  his  widow,  and  his  orphan  —  to  do  all 


Lincoln's  "Second  Inaugural  Address'^       63 

which  may  achieve  and  cherish  a  just  and  lasting  peace 
among  ourselves,  and  with  all  nations." 

Style 

"We  have  said  something  of  lincoln  as  a  man  and  as 
the  leader  of  a  great  cause.  We  desire  now  to  dwell 
upon  a  point  which  is  often  neglected  in  considering  the 
career  of  the  hero  of  the  Union,  but  which,  from  the 
point  of  view  of  letters,  is  of  absorbing  interest.  No  criti- 
cism of  Mr.  Lincoln  can  be  in  any  sense  adequate  which 
does  not  deal  with  his  astonishing  power  over  words.  It 
is  not  too  much  to  say  of  him  that  he  is  among  the  great- 
est masters  of  prose  ever  produced  by  the  English  race. 
Self-educated,  or  rather  not  educated  at  all  in  the  ordi- 
nary sense,  as  he  ;ivas,  he  contrived  to  obtain  an  insight 
and  power  in  the  handling  of  the  mechanism  of  letters  such 
as  has  been  given  to  few  men  in  his,  or,  indeed,  in  any  age. 
That  the  gifttof  oratory  should  be  a  natural  gift  is  under- 
standable enough,  for  the  methods  of  the  orator,  like 
those  of  the  poet,  are  primarily  sensuous,  and  may  well 
be  instinctive.  Mr.  Lincoln's  achievement  seems  to  show 
that  no  less  is  the  writing  of  prose  an  endowment  of  na- 
ture. Mr.  Lincoln  did  not  get  his  ability  to  handle  prose 
through  his  gift  of  speech.  That  these  are  separate, 
though  coordinate,  faculties,  is  a  matter  beyond  dispute, 
for  many  of  the  great  orators  of  the  world  have  proved 
themselves  exceedingly  inefficient  in  the  matter  of  delib- 
erate composition.    Mr.  Lincoln  enjoyed  both  gifts.    His 


64       Lincoln's  "Second  Inaugural  Address'' 

letters,  dispatches,  memoranda,  and  written  adciresses  are 
even  better  than  his  speeches ;  and  in  speaking  thus  of 
Mr.  Lincoln's  prose,  we  are  not  thinking  merely  of  cer- 
tain pieces  of  inspired  rhetoric.  We  do  not  praise  his 
work  because,  like  Mr.  Bright,  he  could  exercise  his 
power  of  coining  illuminating  phrases  as  effectively  upon 
paper  as  on  the  platform.  It  is  in  his  conduct  of  the 
pedestrian  portions  of  composition  that  Mr.  Lincoln's 
genius  for  prose  style  is  exhibited.  Mr.  Bright's  writing 
cannot  claim  to  answer  the  description  which  Hazlitt  has 
given  of  the  successful  prose-writer's  performance.  Mr. 
Lincoln's  can.  What  Hazlitt  says  is  complete  and  per- 
fect in  definition.  He  tells  us  that  the  prose-writer  so 
uses  his  pen  *  that  he  loses  no  particle  of  the  exact  char- 
acteristic extreme  impression  of  the  thing  he  writes 
about ; '  and  with  equal  significance  he  points  out  that 
*  the  prose-writer  is  master  of  his  materials,'  as  *  the 
poet  is  the  slave  of  his  style.'  If  these  words  convey 
a  true  definition,  then  Mr.  Lincoln  is  a  master  of  prose. 
Whatever  the  subject  he  has  in  hand,  whether  it  be  bald 
or  impassioned,  business-like  or  pathetic,  we  feel  that  we 
'lose  no  particle  of  the  exact  characteristic  extreme  im- 
pression '  of  the  thing  written  about.  We  have  it  all, 
and  not  merely  a,  part.  Every  line  shows  that  the  writer 
is  master  of  his  materials  ;  that  he  guides  the  words,  never 
the  words  him.  This  is,  indeed,  the  predominant  note 
throughout  all  Mr.  Lincoln's  work.  We  feel  that  he  is 
like  the  engineer  who  controls  some  mighty  reservoir. 


Lincoln's  "Second  Inaugural  Address''       65 

As  he  desires,  he  opens  the  various  sluice  gates,  but  for 
no  instant  is  the  water  not  under  his  entire  control.  We 
are  sensible  in  reading  Mr.  Lincoln's  writings,  that  an 
immense  force  is  gathered  up  behind  him,  and  that  in 
each  jet  that  flows,  every  drop  is  meant.  Some  writers 
only  leak;  others  half  flow  through  determined  channels, 
half  leak  away  their  words  like  a  broken  lock  when  it  is 
emptying.  The  greatest,  like  Mr.  Lincoln,  send  out  none 
but  clear-shaped  streams. 

"The  'Second  Inaugural'  —  a  written  composition, 
though  read  to  the  citizens  from  the  steps  of  the  Capitol 
—  well  illustrates  our  words.  Mr.  Lincoln  had  to  tell  his 
countrymen  that,  after  a  four  years'  struggle,  the  war  was 
practically  ended.  The  four  years'  agony,  the  passion  of 
love  which  he  felt  for  his  country,  his  joy  in  her  salvation, 
his  sense  of  tenderness  for  those  who  fell,  of  pity  mixed 
with  sternness  for  the  men  who  had  deluged  the  land 
with  blood,  —  all  the  thoughts  these  feelings  inspired  were 
behind  Lincoln,  pressing  for  expression.  A  writer  of  less 
power  would  have  been  overwhelmed.  Lincoln  remained 
master  of  the  emotional  and  intellectual  situation.  In 
three  or  four  hundred  words,  that  burn  with  the  heat  of 
their  compression,  he  tells  the  history  of  the  war  and 
reads  its  lesson.  No  nobler  thoughts  were  ever  con- 
ceived. No  man  ever  found  words  more  adequate  to  his 
desire.  Here  is  the  whole  tale  of  the  nation's  shame  and 
misery,  of  her  heroic  struggles  to  free  herself  therefrom, 
and  of  her  victory.    Had  Lincoln  written  a  hundred  times 


66       Lincoln's  "Second  Inaugural  Address'* 

as  much  more,  he  could  not  have  said  more  fully  what 
he  desired  to  say.  Every  thought  receives  its  complete 
expression,  and  there  is  no  word  employed  which  does 
not  directly  and  manifestly  contribute  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  central  thought. 

"As  an  example  of  Lincoln's  more  familiar  style,  we  may 
quote  from  that  inimitable  series  of  letters  to  his  generals 
to  which  we  made  allusion  on  a  former  occasion.  The 
following  letter  was  addressed  to  General  Hooker  on  his 
being  appointed  to  command  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
after  mismanagement  and  failure  had  made  a  change  of 
generals  absolutely  necessary :  — 

" '  I  have  placed  you  at  the  head  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac.  Of  course  I  have  done  this  upon  what  ap- 
pears to  me  to  be  sufficient  reasons,  and  yet  I  think 
it  best  for  you  to  know  that  there  are  some  things  in 
regard  to  which  I  am  not  quite  satisfied  with  you.  I 
believe  you  to  be  a  brave  and  skillful  soldier,  which,  of 
course,  I  like.  I  also  believe  you  do  not  mix  politics 
with  your  profession,  in  which  you  are  right.  You  have 
confidence  in  yourself,  which  is  a  valuable,  if  not  an  in- 
dispensable, quality.  You  are  ambitious,  which,  within 
reasonable  bounds,  does  good  rather  than  harm ;  but 
I  think  that,  during  General  Burnside's  command  of 
the  army,  you  have*  taken  counsel  of  your  ambition,  and 
thwarted  him  as  much  as  you  could,  in  which  you  did  a 
great  wrong  to  the  country  and  to  a  most  meritorious  and 


Lincoln's  "Second  Inaugural  Address''      67 

honorable  brother  officer.  I  have  heard,  in  such  a  way 
a£  to  believe  it,  of  your  recently  saying  that  both  the 
army  and  the  government  needed  a  dictator.  Of  course, 
it  was  not  for  this,  but  in  spite  of  it,  that  I  have  given 
you  the  command.  Only  those  generals  who  gain  suc- 
cesses can  set  up  dictators.  What  I  now  ask  of  you  is 
military  success,  and  I  will  risk  the  dictatorship.  The 
government  will  support  you  to  the  utmost  of  its  ability, 
which  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  it  has  done  and  will 
do  for  all  commanders.  1  much  fear  that  the  spirit, 
which  you  have  aided  to  infuse  into  the  army,  of  criti- 
cising their  commander  and  withholding  confidence  from 
him,  will  now  turn  upon  you.  I  shall  assist  you  as  far  as 
I  can  to  put  it  down.  Neither  you  nor  Napoleon,  if  he 
were  alive  again,  could  get  any  good  out  of  an  army  while 
such  a  spirit  prevails  in  it.  And  now  beware  of  rashness. 
Beware  of  rashness,  but  with  energy  and  sleepless  vigi- 
lance go  forward  and  give  us  victories.' 

"  It  is  possible  that  this  letter  may  sound  too  severe  in 
tone  when  read  without  the  context.  If,  however,  the 
condition  of  the  army  at  the  time  and  the  intrigues  of 
the  various  commanders  are  considered,  it  will  be  recog- 
nized as  erring  in  no  way  on  the  side  of  harshness.  The 
irony  is  particularly  delightful,  and  in  no  sense  forced. ..." 

The  London  Spectator, 


A  BRIEF  OUTLINE   OF  WASHINGTON'S 
"FAREWELL   ADDRESS" 

Author 

George  Washington 

Born  1732         Died  i']()g 

Occasion 

The  approach  of  the  close  of  his  administration  and 
of  a  new  election. 

Purpose 

To  decline  to  be  a  candidate  for  third  term  and  to 
give  advice  for  future  national  guidance. 

Point  of  View 
That  of  the  "  Father  of  His  Country." 

Summary 
I.     INTRODUCTION 

1.  Declines  to  be  a  candidate  for  a  third  term. 

2.  Believes  this  declination  compatible  with  his  duty  as 
a  citizen. 

3.  His  continuance  in  office  has  been  a  sacrifice  of 
inclination  to  duty. 

68 


Washington's  "Farewell  Address''  69 

4.  The  state  of  internal  and  external  affairs  justifies 
this  course. 

5.  Has  discharged  his  trust  to  the  best  of  his  judgment 
and  ability. 

6.  His  gratitude  for  the  support  of  the  people  during 
his  administratioh. 

II.    THE  BODY   OF  THE  ADDRESS 
I.    Preliminary  Remarks 

1.  Solicitude  for  the  national  welfare  the  reason  for 
offering  advice. 

2.  Reference  to  the  American  love  of  liberty. 

2.   Advice  as  to  Internal  Affairs 

1.  The  importance  of  national  unity — general  state- 
ment. 

2.  Common  beliefs,  customs,  and  sufferings  furnish  a 
natural  bond  of  union. 

3.  Necessity  of  union  for  economic  and  industrial 
growth  and  prosperity. 

4.  Necessity  of  union  to  preserve  independence, 
insure  domestic  tranquillity,  and  render  permanent  our 
free  republican  institutions. 

5.  Necessity  of  faith  in  the  possibility  of  adapting 
our  republican  institutions  to  our  extended  territory. 

6.  The  danger  of  sectionalism  —  reference  to  the 
treaty  with  Spain. 


70  Washington's  "Farewell  Address'' 

7.  Necessity  of  preserving  our  form  of  government 
as  established  by  the  Constitution, 

8.  The  duty  of  every  citizen  to  obey  that  government. 

9.  Dangers  of  the  spirit  of  faction. 

10.  Dangers  of  the  spirit  of  innovation. 

11.  Dangers  of  the  spirit  of  party  in  general. 

12.  Let  there  be  no  encroachment  by  one  department 
of  government  upon  another. 

13.  Encourage  individual  morality  and  religion  as  the 
basis  of  national  morality. 

14.  Promote  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge. 

15.  Cherish  public  credit. 

3.   Advice  as  to  Foreign  Policy 

1.  Observe  good  faith  and  justice  toward  all  nations  ; 
cultivate  peace  and  harmony  with  all. 

2.  Avoid  permanent  antipathies  against  particular 
nations. 

3.  Avoid  passionate  attachment  to  any  foreign  nation. 

4.  Beware  of  foreign  influence  in  domestic  affairs. 

5.  Have  as  little  permanent  political  connection  with 
foreign  nations  as  possible:  their- interests  and  ours  are 
different. 

6.  Our  geographical  situation  makes  this  course  easy 
and  desirable. 

7.  All  existing  engagements  must  be  faithfully  observed. 

8.  We  should  always  keep  ourselves  in  a  respectable 
defensive  posture. 


Washington's  "Farewell  Address''  71 

9.  In  our  commercial  policy  we  should  be  impartial ; 
it  is  folly  for  one  nation  to  expect  disinterested  favors 
from  another. 

III.    CONCLUSION 

1.  The  hope  that  this  advice  will  produce,  at  least, 
some  partial  benefit,  some  occasional  good. 

2.  By  these  principles  he  has  been  guided  in  his  official 
conduct. 

3.  The  neutrality  of  our  government  as  between  Eng- 
land and  France  justified. 

4.  The  necessity  for  prolonged  peace  in  order  to 
solidify  our  institutions  and  to  increase  our  power. 

5.  Pleasing  expectations  of  his  own  future  and  that  of 

the  nation. 

Quotations 

"  Europe  has  a  set  of  primary  interests,  which  to  us 
have  none,  or  a  very  remote  relation.  Hence  she  must 
be  engaged  in  frequent  controversies,  the  causes  of  which 
are  essentially  foreign  to  our  concerns.  Hence,  therefore, 
it  must  be  unwise  in  us  to  implicate  ourselves,  by  artificial 
ties,  in  the  ordinary  vicissitudes  of  her  politics,  or  the 
ordinary  combinations  and  collisions  of  her  friendships 
or  enmities. 

"  Our  detached  and  distinct  situation  invites  and  enables 
us  to  pursue  a  different  course.  If  we  remain  one  people, 
under  an  efficient  government,  the  period  is  not  far  off 
when  we  may  defy  material  injury  from  external  annoy- 
ance ;  when  we  may  take  such  an  attitude  as  will  cause 


72  Washington'' s  "Farewell  Address'' 

the  neutrality,  we  may  at  any  time  resolve  upon,  to  be 
scrupulously  respected ;  when  belligerent  nations,  under 
the  impossibihty  of  making  acquisitions  upon  us,  will  not 
lightly  hazard  the  giving  us  provocation ;  when  we  may 
choose  peace  or  war,  as  our  interest,  guided  by  justice, 
shall  counsel. 

"  Why  forego  the  advantages  of  so  peculiar  a  situation  ? 
Why  quit  our  own  to  stand  upon  foreign  ground  ?  Why, 
by  interweaving  our  destiny  with  that  of  any  part  of 
Europe,  entangle  our  peace  and  prosperity  in  the  toils 
of  European  ambition,  rivalship,  interest,  humor,  or 
caprice  ? 

"  It  is  our  true  policy  to  steer  clear  of  permanent  alli- 
ances with  any  portion  of  the  foreign  world;  so  far,  I 
mean,  as  we  are  now  at  liberty  to  do  it ;  for  let  me  not  be 
understood  as  capable  of  patronizing  infidelity  to  existing 
engagements.  I  hold  the  maxim  no  less  applicable  to 
public  than  to  private  affairs,  that  honesty  is  always  the 
best  policy.  I  repeat  it,  therefore,  let  those  engagements 
be  observed  in  their  genuine  sense.  But,  in  my  opinion, 
it  is  unnecessary  and  would  be  unwise  to  extend  them. 

"  Taking  care  always  to  keep  ourselves,  by  suitable 
establishments,  on  a  respectable  defensive  posture,  we 
may  safely  trust  to  temporary  alliances  for  extraordinary 
emergencies. 

"  Harmony,  liberal  intercourse  with  all  nations,  are  rec- 
ommended by  policy,  humanity,  and  interest.  But  even 
our  commercial  policy  should  hold  an  equal  and  impartial 


Washington's  "Farewell  Address'*  73 

hand ;  neither  seeking  nor  granting  exclusive  favors  or 
preferences ;  consulting  the  natural  course  of  things ; 
diffusing  and  diversifying  by  gentle  means  the  streams  of 
commerce,  but  forcing  nothing ;  establishing  with  powers 
so  disposed,  in  order  to  give  trade  a  stable  course,  to 
define  the  rights  of  our  merchants,  and  to  enable  the 
government  to  support  them,  conventional  rules  of  inter- 
course, the  best  that  present  circumstances  and  mutual 
opinion  will  permit,  but  temporary,  and  liable  to  be  from 
time  to  time  abandoned  or  varied,  as  experience  and  cir- 
cumstances shall  dictate  ;  constantly  keeping  in  view  that 
it  is  folly  in  one  nation  to  look  for  disinterested  favors 
from  another;  that  it  must  pay  with  a  portion  of  its 
independence  for  whatever  it  may  accept  under  that  char- 
acter ;  that,  by  such  acceptance,  it  may  place  itself  in  the 
condition  of  having  given  equivalents  for  nominal  favors, 
and  yet  of  being  reproached  with  ingratitude  for  not  giving 
more.  There  can  be  no  greater  error  than  to  expect  or 
calculate  upon  real  favors  from  nation  to  nation.  It  is  an 
illusion,  which  experience  must  cure,  which  a  just  pride 
ought  to  discard." 

Style* 

A  good  way  to  study  the  style  of  this  "  Address  "  is  to 
compare  it  with  Lincoln's  "  Gettysburg  Speech  "  and  the 
"  Second  Inaugural." 

*  The  "  Farewell  Address  "  was  written  by  Alexander  Hamilton  under 
the  supervision  of  Washington.  The  style  perhaps  is  Hamilton's  ;  the 
ideas  and  the  spirit  are  Washington's. 


74 


Washington's  "Farewell  Address'' 


Washington 

Lincoln 

Words    .... 

Long,     dignified, 

Mostly  simple,  every- 

Latin 

day,  Anglo-Saxon 

Sentences   .     .     . 

Long  (some  exceed 
I  GO  words) 

Very  much  shorter 

Paragraphs      .     . 

Not  much 

difference 

Unity  of  paragraph 

Good,  not  perfect 

Perfect 

and  sentence     . 

Clearness    .     .     . 

Clear 

Very  clear 

Conciseness     .     . 

Concise 

Very  concise 

Force     .... 

Forcible 

Very  forcible 

Coherence  .     .     . 

Not  perfect 

Perfect 

Other  comparisons  can  be  made. 


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The  Essentials  of  Prose  Composition    .        .    $0.65 

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Heydrick's  How  to  Study  Literature        ...  75 

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Fifty  English  Classics  Briefly  Outlined  (Hix)  -        -  1  25 

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How  to  Punctuate  Correctly    -        .        -        .        .  25 

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A  Brief  Outline  ofthe  Books  I  Have  Read  (Wijc)     -  25 

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